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A 

COMMENTARY 

Doctrinal and Practical 



ON THE 

EPISTLE OF PAUL THE APOSTLE 
TO THE ROMANS 

BY 

S. R. HARSHMAN 

(Author of "Sermons on Familiar Subjects" and "Christian 
Citizenship and Other Sermons") 

EVANGELIST 

AND 

Pastor of The Chtirch of Jesus Christ 
hi Sullivan, Illinois 



MCMIV 



36 ^^'^^ 

.VA3 



Two rtriDies Rerwved 

SEP 17 1904 

CLASS <Jt XXo. No. 
^ COPY B 



Copyright, 1904, 

BY 

S. R. HARSHMAN 



MADE BY 

THE WERNER COMPANY 

AKRON, OHIO 



PREFACE 

1HAVK for some time felt a desire to prepare this 
work, though conscious of the lack of equipment 
for the task. But I have long realized that the com- 
mentaries extant are unsatisfactory, and fail in some 
respects to give the mind of the Spirit. In some re- 
spects these commentaries are all that could be de- 
sired ; but they fail to bring out clearly the doctrines 
taught. I shall attempt no emendations of the text, 
nor criticisms upon the translation. My knowledge of 
Greek is too narrow to fit me for such a task. Nor 
am I able to give the various readings as found in 
different manuscripts and versions. The reader will 
find such information in more pretentious works, 
prepared by much abler authors. The common Greek 
text and the authorized version of the New Testa- 
ment will be accepted without any attempt at criti- 
cism. This work is intended to be doctrinal and 
practical only. While some knowledge of the origi- 
nal is a great help in determining the real meaning 
and intention of the writer, happily no knowledge 

(V) - 



VI PREFACE 

of ancient languages, nor great critical ability is es- 
sential to the understanding of the doctrines of the 
New Testament. Where I have consciously borrowed 
from others I have given them the proper credit. 
This work is not a compilation. I have done my 
own thinking, and whatever excellencies or defects 
the work may contain are all my own. I trust that 
spiritual men may find this book to be helpful to 
them. With this hope I send it forth. 

S. R. Harshman. 
Sullivan, III., Jan. SO, 1903. 



INTRODUCTION 

THE apostle Paul, the author of the Epistle to the 
Romans, is the most eminent character of the 
Christian age. He was born in Tarsus, the chief 
city of the province of Cilicia, in Asia Minor. It 
was made a free city by the emperor Augustus 
some time before the apostle was born. This made 
any free person, born in that city, a Roman citizen. 
As such, he was free from the tribute paid by others 
and had many rights not belonging to the subject 
peoples. He could not be condemned without a trial 
in which he could meet his accusers face to face. 
He could not be bound or scourged or otherwise 
maltreated until condemned. He had the right of 
appeal from the decision of the consular, and other 
provincial courts, to Rome, and to Caesar himself. 
Many purchased this freedom by paying great sums 
to the Roman government, but Saul of Tarsus was 
freeborn. The fact that St. Paul was often scourged 
and beaten with rods, shows that he did not stand 

upon his rights as a Roman. Saul is called a young 

(vii) 



Vlll INTRODUCTION 

man at the time of the martyrdom of Stephen, and 
it is probable that he was born about the time of 
the beginning of the Christian era. Though born in 
Tarsus, he seems to have been brought up at Jeru- 
salem, receiving his education at the feet of Gamaliel, 
that most eminent doctor of the law. He was 
devout and zealous, and in his state of unbelief 
became a persecutor of the infant church. After 
his commission as an Apostle of Christ he became at 
least equally zealous in preaching that gospel he 
once despised ; and he did more in establishing the 
church of Christ than any other apostle, if not more 
than all of them together. His epistles have been of 
inestimable value to the church in all succeeding 
ages. He was the only one among the twelve who 
systematized Christian theology ; so that he is credited 
by some of the enemies of Christianity with being 
the real author of that system of religion. He him- 
self speaks of the abundance of the revelations which 
he received, and he seems to have had a more clear 
and comprehensive understanding of the Christian 
system than any of his cotemporaries. He was 
able to more fully divest himself of the prejudices of 
his Jewish education than any other of the apostles. 
This may have been partially the result of his special 
mission to the Gentiles, when such freedom from 
prejudice was absolutely essential. 



INTRODUCTION IX 

The family of Saul of Tarsus was probably of 
some consequence since he was able to get his edu- 
cation in Jerusalem. He was of the tribe of Ben- 
jamin, from which the first King of Israel was chosen, 
whence probably his name. He declares that he was 
a Hebrew of the Hebrews, meaning no doubt, that 
he was an enthusiastic Jew ; a violent partisan of 
his religion. As touching the law he was a Phari- 
see, the straitest sect among the Jews, and the most 
zealous. As touching the righteousness which was 
in the law, he was blameless. That he was recog- 
nized as a man of ability is evidenced by the im- 
portant commissions which were entrusted to so 
young a man. His prospects of worldly preferment 
were bright and flattering. But all these things 
which were gain to him, these he counted loss for 
Christ. Being chosen to fill the place of Judas, the 
traitor, in the apostolic college, the Lord manifested 
himself to him and called him by name, and gave 
him his commission from his own mouth. He was 
also taught by the I^ord directly all gospel truth, 
and he himself declares his independence of all the 
other apostles, "Am I not an apostle.^ am I not 
free.^* have I not seen the Lord Jesus?" He is care- 
ful to establish his entire freedom from human 
teaching, and to declare that his gospel was not 
taught him by man. As to his personal qualities, 



X INTRODUCTION 

his second name Paul, would indicate that he was 
small of stature. And to this agrees his mention of 
the sneers of his enemies that his bodily presence 
w^as weak ; so also the fact that he was called Mer- 
curius, while Barnabas, who was probably of impos- 
ing presence was called Jupiter by those Pagans who 
mistook them for heathen gods. Besides, Paul was 
the chief speaker. Mercurius, though an inferior 
deity, was the messenger of the gods. It seems also 
that St. Paul was not an orator. His enemies said 
that his speech was contemptible. This referred, no 
doubt, to his manner of speaking rather than to his mat- 
ter; for they acknowledged his letters to be weighty 
and powerful. He also had an infirmity in his flesh 
which he mentions in his letter to the Galatians, 
which they are said not to have despised, but were 
ready to pluck out their own eyes and give them to 
him. This has caused a suspicion that his infirmity 
was weakness of the eyes. His use of an amanuensis 
in writing some of his epistles confirms this suspi- 
cion. This would account for his inability to distin- 
guish the High Priest in his trial before the Sanhe- 
drim. This is, I think, a different matter from his 
thorn in the flesh, which he sought to have removed. 
This thorn, a minister of Satan buffeting him, was 
probably a person rather than a physical infirmity; 
though it may refer to the latter. His rudeness of 



INTRODUCTION XI 

Speech, which he confesses to, may have resulted 
from his speaking Greek, which was not his native 
tongue. He could speak Hebrew and Hebrew Syr- 
iac of the common people, but he may not have 
been in the habit of speaking Greek before begin- 
ning gospel work. His lack of popularity as a 
speaker was due no doubt, at least in part, to some 
peculiarity in his style, but it may have been also 
due to his unwillingness to pander to the vitiated 
taste of his hearers. The style of oratory of that 
time was labored and bombastic ; grandiloquence 
rather than eloquence. This style of oratory was 
assiduously cultivated by public speakers, and carried 
to such extremes as to border on the grotesque. It 
was artificial and as far as possible removed from 
the simple and natural. It was entirely inappropri- 
ate to the preaching of the gospel ; and so was re- 
pudiated by the apostle. He declares that he came 
not with excellency of speech or of wisdom when 
preaching the gospel. This simple, unaffected style 
of speaking was not appreciated by auditors accus- 
tomed to the popular style of oratory, and seemed 
to them contemptible. His recorded speeches, how- 
ever, are models of their kind, however faulty their 
delivery may have been ; a^d the effect produced 
upon his hearers causes the suspicion that his ene- 
mies greatly magnified his oratorical defects. His 



Xll INTRODUCTION 

Speech before King Agrippa could scarcely be im- 
proved on and the effect of it was immediate and 
powerful. 

His enemies confessed the power of his writings. 
"His letters," say they, "are weighty and powerful." 
Of this fact we have personal experience. Handi- 
capped as he was by physical defects, rudeness of 
speech, and his defiance of the popular taste, he yet 
by his untiring zeal, his vast labors, his ability and 
willingness to adapt himself to the ignorance and 
weakness of others, and by his extraordinary abilities, 
sanctified wholly to the service of God, became the 
chief instrument in God's hands, in laying the founda- 
tions of the new religion. In doing this work he 
suffered extraordinary persecutions. In II Cor. XI- 
cap., he gives a summary of his persecutions and 
sufferings. Speaking of the false teachers who exalted 
themselves and depreciated Paul and his labors, and 
comparing himself and them, in what he calls " foolish 
boasting," he says, " Are they ministers of Christ, I 
am more. In labors more abundant, in stripes above 
measure, in prisons more frequent, in deaths oft. Of 
the Jews five times received I forty stripes, save 
one. Thrice was I beaten with rods, once was 
I stoned, thrice I suffered shipwreck, a night and a 
day I have been in the deep; in journeyings often, 
in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils by 



INTRODUCTION Xlll 

mine own countrymen, in perils by the heathen, in 
perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in 
perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren ; 
in weariness and painfulness, in watchings often, 
in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and 
nakedness ; besides those things that are without, 
that which cometh upon me daily, the care of all the 
churches. Who is weak, and I am not weak ! Who 
is offended and I burn not ! " What a catalogue of 
sufferings and labors is here enumerated ! All these 
things seem to have been necessary, lest he should 
overvalue himself because of the abundance of the 
revelations given him. The hatred and scorn of the 
world, the privations and hardships which he under- 
went, saved him from spiritual pride, through the 
abounding grace of God. In like manner must men 
suffer whom God deigns greatly to honor, by extraor- 
dinary revelations of his truth, and of his favor. 

Who is willing to be honored of God at such a 
cost? 

The labors and sufferings, the cares and trials of 
the apostle to the Gentiles probably tended to shorten 
his life ; for he did not live to become a very old 
man, though he calls himself in one instance, Paul the 
aged. We cannot determine his age with any great 
precision, but we have certain data from which we 
can approximate to the truth upon that point. At 



XIV INTRODUCTION 

the time of the martyrdom of Stephen, Saul was 
called a young man. That would mean that he was 
between thirty and forty years old. This was shortly 
after Christ's death which took place in the year 
thirty-three of this era. St. Paul was beheaded 
under the reign of Nero, which extended from 54 to 
68 A. D. It is probable that his death or martyr- 
dom occurred near the end of Nero's reign after he 
had become cruel and bloodthirsty. If St. Paul was 
thirty-five at the time of Stephen's death, and died 
in the last year of Nero's reign he would have been 
but seventy years old. It is probable that that is 
near the truth. He began to feel the infirmities of 
age creeping on him before this time, or he would 
not have called himself aged. Until he was past 
eighty years of age, John Wesley declares of himself 
that he felt no signs of age. This was remarkable. 
St. Paul on the other hand grew old at seventy. 
He had much to contend with. He not only incurred 
the enmity of the heathen whose gods he dis- 
credited, and of the Jews whose religion he made 
antiquated, but also of many who were called 
Christians, because they could not understand his 
rejection of Jewish forms and ceremonies. These 
Jewish Christians could not wholly divorce them- 
selves from the religion of their fathers, but under- 
took to make Christianity a new patch upon the old 



INTRODUCTION XV 

garment of Judaism. St. Paul understood more 
clearly than any other man of his time the distinc- 
tion between the two religions, and the danger of 
a mixture of the two ; and being the apostle to the 
Gentiles, he magnified his office by insisting upon 
these differences that he might preserve the spiritu- 
ality of the Gentile churches. This brought on a 
conflict which lasted his lifetime through ; but he 
never faltered nor wavered. His attempt to concili- 
ate those Christians who were zealous for the law, 
when he visited Jerusalem, only got him into trouble 
and failed of its object. Reviewing this conflict just 
before his departure to Paradise, he exclaimed; "I 
have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, 
I have kept the faith." As has been said, he suf- 
fered martyrdom under Nero, and being a Roman 
citizen, he was decapitated instead of being crucified. 
The Epistle to the Romans is the most profound the- 
ological work extant. I have imagined that St. 
Peter had it especially in mind when he wrote con- 
cerning St. Paul's writings that some of them were 
hard to be understood, which those who were un- 
learned and unstable, wrested to their own destruc- 
tion. Certain it is, that no other part of the sacred 
writings is more relied on to prove all sorts of opin- 
ions and doctrines. No other part is so variously 
explained by commentators and theologians. There 



XVI INTRODUCTION 

are a few passages in this epistle which are prob- 
ably inexplicable; at least, they have never been so 
explained as to produce certainty that the mind of 
the Spirit is understood. But generally, I think, the 
epistle may be satisfactorily explained so as to make 
it consistent with itself and with other scriptures. 
The epistle seems to have been systematically planned, 
and the plan may be briefly stated as follows: 

ist. The introduction including a description of the con- 
dition of the Pagan world. Chapter I. 

2nd. A demonstration of the equally lost condition of both 
Jew and Gentile. Chapters II and III. 

3rd. The Doctrine of Justification by faith. Chapters IV^ 
and V. 

4th. The doctrine of original sin and our salvation from 
it through Christ. Chapters VI, VII and VIII. 

5th. A demonstration of the fulfillment of the promises 
made to God's ancient people notwithstanding the rejection 
of the greater part of the Jewish nation. Chapters IX, X 
and XI. 

6th. Exhortations to Holy living. Chapter XII. 

7th. The duty of subjection to human government. Chap- 
ter XIII. 

8th. The impropriety of Christians judging one another 
concerning things indifferent, and the duty of the strong to 
bear with the weak. Chapters XIV and XV. 

9th. Salutations. Chapter XVI. 



The Epistle of Paul the Apostle 
TO THE Romans 



CHAPTER I. 

1. Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to he an apostle, 
separated unto the grace of God, 

2. (Which he had promised afore by his prophets in the 
holy scriptures,) 

The apostle here calls himself a servant (doulos) 
of Jesus Christ. The Greek word signifies a bond- 
servant or slave. God's people are free men because 
delivered from the bondage of sin ; but they are the 
Lord's bond-servants, having been bought with a 
price. He was called to be an apostle, or rather 
called an apostle; the words "to be" being supplied 
by the translators. He refers, no doubt, to his call 
by the Lord Jesus. The term "apostle" signifies an 
envoy, an ambassador. The seventy, called evange- 
lists, were also messengers but not in so extensive a 
sense as the twelve. An evangelist is a gospeller, 

or gospel preacher. 

2 (17) 



l8 A COMMENTARY 

3. Concerning his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, which was 
made of the seed of David according to the flesh ; 

4. And declared to be the Son of God with power, accord- 
ing to the Spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the 
dead : 

Both the mother and the reputed father of Jesus 
were of the lineage of David. Christ was born in 
Bethlehem, the city of David; living afterward in 
Nazareth gave Him the name of Nazarene. 

The resurrection of Christ from the dead was a 
most conclusive proof of the genuineness of His 
claim that He was the Son of God. It proved the 
truth of His assertion that He had power to lay 
down His life, and power to take it again. The 
primitive Christians made much of the fact of the 
resurrection, and those calling themselves Christians 
who deny the literalness of Christ's resurrection 
would make Him out an impostor. His taking His 
life up again was as literal and actual as was His 
death. 

5. By whom we have received grace and apostleship, for 
obedience to the faith among all nations, for his name : 

6. Among whom are ye also the called of Jesus Christ: 

In one sense, all who hear the gospel are called. 
But some, represented by the " wayside,'' upon which 
some seed fell, do not hear God's call. To some 
"our gospel is hid." But these are exceptional cases. 
But not all who are really called, who recognize 



A COMMENTARY I 9 

God's voice, are actually chosen. Whether they who 
are called are chosen or not depends upon the con- 
currence of their own wills, not upon any Divine 
decree. The hearer himself decides whether his call 
shall be effectual or not. 



saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father, and the 
Lord Jesus Christ. 

The apostle Paul had never been in Rome; and as 
he declares that he never builded upon another 
man's foundation, many of the saints in Rome must 
have been his own converts. Rome was the metro- 
politan city and was constantly visited by people 
from all parts of the empire, and many who went 
there remained. 

8. First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all, 
that your faitli is spoken of throughout the whole world. 

9. For God is my witness, whom I serve with my spirit in 
the gospel of his Son, that without ceasing I make mention 
of you always in my prayers ; 

10. Making request, if by any means now at length I 
might have a prosperous journev by the will of God to come 
unto you. 

11. For I long to see you, that I may impart unto you 
some spiritual gift, to the end ye may be established; 

12. That is, that I may be comforted together with you 
by the mutual faith both of you and me. 

The Christians in Rome suffered great persecutions 
at times, and these trials of their faith probably 
caused their fidelity to become so celebrated. But 



20 A COMMENTARY 

Nero's persecutions had not yet begun. He accused 
the Christians of setting the city of Rome on fire, a 
crime which he was suspected of secretly conniving 
at, and then the saints were horribly persecuted by 
him in order to cover up his own guilt. They were 
crucified, burned alive, cast to the wild beasts 
in the arena, and otherwise put to death. Thousands 
afterwards perished in the catacombs under that city. 
The apostle was, no doubt, conscious of his ability 
to impart spiritual benefit to the believers in Rome, 
but he would not assume superiority, but qualified 
his words by speaking of a mutual benefit that was 
to be enjoyed by association with them. This shows 
how careful he was to avoid offence ; though when 
his authority was questioned he would defend it. 
This absence of all assumption of superiority is 
characteristic of a great mind and of great grace. 

13. Now I would not have you ignorant, brethren, that 
oftentimes I purposed to come unto you, ( but was let hith- 
erto,) that I might have some fruit among you also, even as 
among other Gentiles. 

That the apostle was aquainted with many of the 
saints in Rome is evident from the salutations in the 
last chapter of this epistle, but he had met them in 
other places. He desires fruit among them ; that is, 
he desires to make converts in Rome itself. His 
burning desire to save souls would not let him rest 



A COMMENTARY 21 

while there was opportunity for doing good. He 
did not foresee, however, how God would gratify his 
desire to visit Rome ; that he should first visit that 
city a prisoner. 

14. I am debtor both to the Greeks, and to the Barba- 
rians; both to the wise, and to the unwise. 

The Greeks called all other nations Barbarians, so 
that the Romans themselves were Barbarians to the 
Greeks. Naturally the apostle owed no man any 
service, nor was he under any obligation to labor for 
any man without compensation. But for Christ's sake 
he becomes the servant of all, and debtor to any man 
who needed his services. As he declares in another 
place, he was free from all men, but became the 
servant of all, for Christ's sake! This was true not 
only of the great apostle to the Gentiles, but is 
equally true of every gospel minister. Wheresoever 
he finds a human being who needs the gospel he 
owes him his service in preaching that gospel. For 
Christ's sake he is every man's servant without 
money and without fee. He who stops to arrange 
for compensation for his labor shows himself to be 
constrained, not by the love of Christ, but by the 
love of filthy lucre. God's ministers are debtors to 
all of every language, race and color. 

15. So, as much as in me is, I am ready to preach the 
gospel to you that are at Rome also. 



2 2 A COMMENTARY 

i6. For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it 
is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth ; 
to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. 

The apostle intimates here that he imagines some- 
one might impute his failure to visit Rome hitherto 
to shame ; that he was ashamed to preach the gospel 
of the despised Nazarene in the centre of culture and 
refinement. It is such an imputation that he here 
denies. For though he was preaching the gospel of 
one accounted a malefactor, who was put to the 
death of a slave upon a Roman cross, yet His gospel 
was nothing to be ashamed of, since it was a suc- 
cess. It is the powc7' of God. Not merely the power 
of eloquence, or of logic, or of human persuasion, 
but the power of God, in that it is preached with 
the Holy Ghost sent down from Heaven ; it pierces 
like a sword, and is a discerner of the thoughts and 
intents of the heart. A gospel destitute of this Di- 
vine element is in word only, and too weak to do 
lost men any good. The gospel is the power of God 
unto salvation. It really saves men from sin ; for if 
they are not saved from sin, they are not saved at 
all. "He shall save His people from their sins." 
He came to make an end of sin and to bring in 
everlasting righteousness. The gospel is God's ap- 
pointed means for accomplishing this end. "It hath 
pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save 



A COMMENTARY 23 

them that believe." But men have lost confidence in 
the power of the gospel to save, and are substituting 
other means. In fact, many deny the possibility of 
accomplishing the design of the gospel, and are con- 
tent with much less. Nevertheless it is still true that 
the gospel is the power of God, and that it saves 
from sin those who believe it. Men who preach the 
gospel the apostle preached still find it efficacious, 
and are content to depend on it alone to save sinners. 

17. For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from 
faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live hy faith. 

It is not only true that sinners are justified by 
faith, but those who are justified live by faith. This 
is a fact generally confessed but seldom understood. 
It is not by obedience believers stand or live, nor by 
the use of means of grace ; but the life they now 
live, they live by the faith of the Son of God. Faith 
alone unites them to God, the source of their spirit- 
ual life. To do anything in order to live is to seek 
to live by works, and so to fall from grace. 

18. For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against 
all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, w^ho hold the 
truth in unrighteousness. 

Some critics render the passage "hold down the 
truth" ; but it is probable the reading in the text is 
the better one. The context shows the apostle had 
in mind those who make no use of the truth they 



24 A COMMENTARY 

possess ; who do not strive to obey the truth they 
have knowledge of. Of such, who know their Mas- 
ter's will and do it not, it is said they shall be beaten 
with many stripes. 

19. Because that which may be known of God is manifest 
in them; for God had shewed // unto them. 

20. For the invisible things of him from the creation of the 
world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that 
are made, even his eternal power and Godhead ; so that they 
are without excuse : 

It is clear that the apostle held with David, that 
atheism is a disease of the heart rather than of the 
head. The fool hath said in his heart. There is no 
God. The light of nature alone is sufficient to teach 
us the existence of an Infinite Creator. 

21. Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him 
not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their 
imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. 

22. Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools. 

23. And changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into 
an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and four- 
footed beasts, and creeping things. 

The failure to glorify God, when He is known, 
will surely bring darkness, in any age or under any 
dispensation. There is no folly nor absurdity too 
great for men to commit when once they have lost 
the light of God. Yet men always imagine them- 
selves growing wise as they go away from God. 
They have no standard by which to measure them- 



A COMMENTARY 25 

selves, their humility is lost, and their vanity puffs 
them up. The foolish and debasing idolatries into 
which mankind sank v^hen they cast off the knowl- 
edge of God are almost incredible, and are a shame 
to human nature. But they did these things while 
they imagined they were becoming wise. 

24. Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through 
the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies 
between themselves : 

25. Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and wor- 
shipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who 
is blessed for ever. Amen. 

To corrupt the truth is to change it into a lie. 
The existence of God, and our duty to worship Him 
is the truth ; but when men substituted idols repre- 
senting demons, for the true and living God, and 
worshipped them, they changed the truth of God 
into a lie. Corrupted truth is the worst form of 
falsehood. It is not only a lie, but it apes the truth, 
and is thus the more likely to deceive. I have seen 
it stated that a false religion is better than no 
religion. This is a mistake; it is worse; just as a 
counterfeit coin is worse than no money. It would 
be difficult to deceive a pauper into the opinion that 
he is rich, if he has no money ; but it may be done 
with counterfeit money. Skepticism, agnosticism, is 
less harmful than a false religion. 



26 A COMMENTARY 

26. For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections : 
for even their women did change their natural use into that 
which is against nature : 

27. And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of 
the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men 
with men working that which is unseemly, and receiving in 
themselves that recompence of their error which was meet. 

The vile and debasing lusts of the pagan nations 
were so abominable as to almost surpass belief. St. 
Paul declares in another place that it is a shame to 
speak of those things which are done of them in 
secret. The state of affairs described as existing 
in Sodom gives us an idea of the condition of things 
in pagandom. No wonder that city was destroyed. 
Men often wonder at, and skeptics cavil at, the 
severity of God toward the Canaanites. This gives 
the clew. They were so debased that they had 
become incorrigible and God gave them up to 
destruction as he did Sodom, but by other means. 
By giving these nations up to the sword of the 
Israelites, God not only executed vengeance upon 
these sinners, but he impressed upon the Israelites 
themselves the enormity of their offence. The leisure 
classes in Rome at the time the apostle wrote this 
epistle, were nearly or quite as vile as the Sodomites. 
Chastity and common decency were almost strangers 
among them. The common people were not quite so 
much debased. 



A COMMENTARY 2,7 

28. And even as they did not like to retain God in their 
knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do 
those things which are not convenient ; 

This reprobate mind was the result of the dark- 
ened heart spoken of in verse 21. A rejection of 
the truth darkens the moral nature. "If thine eye 
be evil thy whole body shall be full of darkness " 
says the Lord. The withdrawal of the light of God, 
the influence of the Holy Spirit, soon affects the 
intellect. The mental processes become erratic and 
foolish. There is no predicting what absurdities they 
will be guilty of. A madness is upon them. This 
was observed even by the pagans, who had a saying 
that "Whom the gods will destroy they first make 
mad." This fate is predicted of the false professors 
in the end of this age. Because they receive not the 
love of the truth that they might be saved, therefore 
God will send them strong delusion, that they may 
believe a lie. There are many reasons for believing 
that this prophecy is now being fulfilled. 

The things which are not conve7tient are those un- 
natural desires and appetites which they cultivated, 
and gratified ; those things which are against nature. 
They were strained, farfetched, out of the order of 
nature ; therefore not co7tvenient. In the 37th verse he 
tells us that they received in themselves the recom- 
pence that was meet. The results of such debauch- 



25 A COMMENTARY 

ery were physical and mental degeneracy and weak- 
ness. 

29. Being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wick- 
edness, covetousness, maliciousness ; full of envj, murder, 
debate, deceit, malignity; whisperers, 

30. Backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, 
inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, 

31. Without understanding, covenant-breakers, without 
natural affection, implacable, unmerciful : 

32. Who knowing the judgment of God, that they which 
commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, 
but have pleasure in them that do them. 

This description of the moral state of heathendom 
is so vivid and clear that it needs little comment. 
In the case of the Romans, their implacability and 
unmercifulness were shown in their love of gladiato- 
rial combats. It often happened that one of the con- 
testants was vanquished without being killed outright, 
and the sparing of his life depended upon the deci- 
sion of the spectators. The victor waited for the 
signal of the emperor, or of the person presiding at 
the games. The spectators signified their wish and 
the emperor's thumb was turned up or down accord- 
ingly. If up, the vanquished man's life was spared; 
otherwise he was dispatched without mercy. It is to 
the shame of the Roman people that often the pros- 
trate man was killed in cold blood at their demand. 

To persist in doing those things known to be 
worthy of death, shows inveterate rebellion and 



A COMMENTARY 



29 



hardness of heart. But men often do what they are 
ashamed to have known. To take pleasure in those 
who do these shameful things shows a still lower 
stage of degradation and moral degeneracy. Such 
men have become lost to shame, and free from 
remorse. 

The condition of the pagan world here described 
by St. Paul, and his description of false professors 
in the last days of the present age, as found in II 
Tim. 3rd chapter, ist and 5th, are so similar as to ex- 
cite astonishment. In order that the similarity may 
be clearly seen, I will give ,the two passages side 
by side that the comparison may be easy. 



29. Being filled with all 
unrighteousness, fornication, 
wickedness, covetousness, ma- 
liciousness ; full of envy, mur- 
der, debate, deceit, malignity; 
whisperers, 

30. Backbiters, haters of 
God, despiteful, proud, boast- 
ers, inventors of evil things, 
disobedient to parents, 

31. Without understanding, 
covenant-breakers, without nat- 
ural affection, implacable, un- 
merciful. 



2. For men shall be lovers 
of their own selves, covetous, 
boasters, proud, blasphemers, 
disobedient to parents, un- 
thankful, unholy, 

3. Without natural affec- 
tion, truce-breakers, false ac- 
cusers, incontinent, fierce, de- 
spisers of those that are good, 

4. Traitors, heady, high- 
minded, lovers of pleasures 
more than lovers of God. 



Two thirds or three fourths of these characteristics 
are common to the heathen of Paul's day and the 
professed Christians of our day. 



CHAPTER II. 

I. Therefore thou art inexcusable, O man, whosoever thou 
art that judgest: for wherein thou judgest another, thou con- 
demnest thyself; for thou that judgest doest the same things. 

This apostrophe is addressed to no special person 
or class, and is no doubt of universal application ; but 
it is probable that the apostle has the Jews in mind 
in what he says here. 

On this point of judging there is general misappre- 
hension. It is commonly thought that all judging 
is condemned. St. Paul's teaching is in harmony 
with the teaching of Christ in his sermon on the 
mount. The person who judges is here condemned 
for denouncing in another that of which he himself 
is guilty. The fact that a man does an unlawful 
thing is not positive proof of guilt. He may do it 
in ignorance of the law ; this would plead an excuse. 
But when he condemns the same conduct in another, 
it is positive proof of guilt, and leaves him without 
excuse for his wrongdoing. He knows better. This 
is what Jesus means when he says, "Judge not lest 
ye be judged." We must be willing to be judged by 
the same rule by which we judge others. To con- 
(30) 



A COMMENTARY 3 1 

demn others for those things of which we ourselves 
are guilty, is sheer hypocrisy. If we do not wish to 
be judged, we must not judge others : " Those who live 
in glass houses must not throw stones." But those 
who are willing to be judged themselves are at 
liberty to judge others by the same rule. Having 
the beam out of his own eye one can consistently 
pull motes out of others' eyes. Only the innocent 
are competent to judge the guilty. This is shown in 
the case of the woman taken in adultery, as recorded 
in John's gospel. If this principle were enforced in 
our civil and criminal courts it would be much more 
difficult than it is now to secure competent juries. 

2. But we are sure that the judgment of God is according 
to truth against them which commit such things. 

3. And thinkest thou this, O man, that judgest them 
which do such things, and doest the same, that thou shalt 
escape the judgment of God? 

How strange it is that any one should imagine 

that his own sins would be condoned if he should 

condemn the same sins in others. This is an evidence 

of the deceitfulness of sin. But in many cases men 

condemn the sins of others to conceal their own. 

This sort of hypocrisy is quite common. None are 

so unmerciful to other culprits as the guilty who 

think their guilt undiscovered. The others are guilty 

of the unpardonable crime of being found out. Such 

shall not escape the judgment of God. "They shall 



32 A COMMENTARY 

have judgment without mercy, who showed no 
mercy." As they judged others so shall they be 
judged. 

4. Or despises! thou the riches of his goodness and for- 
bearance and longsuff ering ; not knowing that the goodness of 
God leadeth thee to repentance? 

God's forbearance with sinners who despise his 
grace and trample upon his goodness is astonishing. 
Infinite patience is incomprehensible to finite minds. 
Nor is that patience ever exhausted. It is no longer 
exercised simply because it is useless, the sinner's 
case being hopeless. So long as there is any possi- 
bility of repentance God's grace is extended to the 
ingrate. 

Not only is it true that the goodness of God is 
intended to lead the sinner to repentance, but it is 
also true that nothing else carj produce that effect. 
Fear can never lead to repentance. It is a slavish 
sentiment, appealing to self-love, and if excessive it 
paralyzes effort and dazes the intellectual faculties. 
There is nothing generous in it. If the sinner is 
ever separated from his sins he must be drawn from 
them; he cannot be driven from them. The prospect 
of punishment may make men fear to sin, but cannot 
deliver them from the love of sin. A sense of God's 
love and goodness is the only thing that can create 
an abhorrence of sin. This appeals to our gratitude 



A COMMENTARY 33 

and to every generous sentiment of our nature. A 
sense of God's love v^^ill create in us a desire to 
love Him, and consequently make sin hateful to us. 

5. But after thy hardness and impenitent heart treasurest 
up unto thyself wrath against the day of wrath and revelation 
of the righteous judgment of God; 

Wrath, w^hen predicated of God, is a very differ- 
ent thing from the evil passion of that name found 
in demons and wricked men. The latter springs from 
hatred, the former from love. It is the wrath of love, 
and there is in it nothing incompatible with infinite 
pity. Punitive justice is inseparable from any form 
of government. As Governor of the moral universe 
God must punish incorrigible offenders. The nature 
of this punishment we do not understand. We are 
informed that wicked men suffer punishment with 
demons, but are nowhere taught that this punishment 
is inflicted by demons. The popular notion that sin- 
ners are put under the power of demons to be pun- 
ished is unfounded. Wicked men fall into the hands 
of "the living God" when the day of grace is past; 
then the day of wrath will begin. 

6. Who will render to every man according to his deeds. 

Rewards and punishments are to be measured out 
to men according to their deeds. Men are saved or 
lost accordingly as they believe the gospel or do not 



34 A COMMENTARY 

believe it. "He that belie veth hath everlasting life." 
*'He that believeth not shall not see life." That is, 
men are saved according to their faith, but rewarded 
according to their works. This is a distinction that 
is often lost sight of. All believers are alike saved 
and all unbelievers are alike lost ; but all believers have 
not the same rewards, nor all unbelievers the same 
punishments. Nor does it necessarily follow, because 
men are lost forever, that they are punished forever 
for the sins committed in this life. Nor can we with 
certainty assume that while degrees of punishment 
differ, the duration of punishment incurred for the 
sins of this life is the same in all cases. To be eter- 
nally lost is one thing ; to be eternally punished is 
quite another thing. Men are lost because of what 
they are; they are punished for what they have done. 

7. To them who by patient continuance in well doing seek 
for glory and honour and immortality, eternal life : 

Patient continuance in well doing is essential to 
success in the service of God. Modern Arminianism, 
while holding in accordance with scripture the doc- 
trine of the possibility of falling from the grace of 
God so as to be finally lost, is guilty of minimizing 
the danger of apostasy. It has come to be consid- 
ered a light matter to fall from grace. It is consid- 
ered not only a possibility, but a probability. The 
children are taught to sing, 



A COMMENTARY 35 

*• If I forget Him and wander away, 
Kindly He follows wherever I stray." 

God says, "If any man draw back, my soul shall 
have no pleasure in him." He that looks back, after 
having put his hand to the gospel plow, is not fit 
for the kingdom of God. To forget God is a most 
heinous offence, and worthy of death ; as says the 
Psalmist, "The wicked shall be turned into hell and 
all the nations that forget God." God was once 
married to the backslider, but that is not the case 
now. Wilful sin is fatal to the soul, and its effects 
are irreparable. Inconstancy in God's service is in- 
excusable, and will fail of success. 

We are here taught that immortality is to be sought 
after, and the logical inference is that it is therefore 
not naturally ours. The term is intended to apply 
to the body, or to the whole man, and does not 
apply to the spirit, or immaterial principle. So far 
as I know, immortality is never predicted of the soul 
or spirit, in the scriptures. But its existence apart 
from the body is plainly taught, and its indestructi- 
bility is asserted by the Lord Jesus. The immortality 
of the soul or spirit, though not stated explicitly, is 
intimated in many ways. It is logically inferred that 
as the body came from the earth, and so partakes of 
the nature of its source, being changeable and mortal, 
the spirit coming from God, partakes of His nature, 



S6 A COMMENTARY 

and so is unchangeable and immortal. So, "the dust 
returns to the earth as it was, and the spirit returns 
to God who gave it." It may be asked " will not 
the wicked have immortal bodies in the resurrection?" 
It seems not. This gift is for those who seek it, 
and for them alone. The wicked will have the same 
life restored to them through Christ that they lost 
through the sin of Adam, with no access to a tree 
of life. It is said of God, ''Who only hath immor- 
tality." In the absolute sense God alone is immor- 
tal. The immortality of His creatures depends upon 
His will. If He can create. He can destroy them. 
If it be true, as some philosophers teach, that some- 
thing was never created from nothing, and so can- 
not be reduced to nothing, but that the whole 
universe, spiritual and material, is an emanation from 
God; then God can destroy the whole of it, or any 
part of it, by absorbing that which emanated from 
Him. 

The eternal life which God gives to those who 
seek for glory and honor and immortality, is not 
eternal existence but eternal union with Himself. 
This is enjoyed in a limited sense in this life by the 
believer, but will be enjoyed hereafter in a more 
eminent sense. 

8. But unto them that are contentious, and do not obey 
the truth, but obey unrighteousness, indignation and wrath, 



A COMMENTARY 37 

9. Tribulation and anguish, upon every soul of man that 
doeth evil, of the Jew first, and also of the Gentile ; 

10. But glory, honor, and peace, to every man that work- 
eth good, to the Jew first, and also to the Gentile : 

11. For there is no respect of persons with God. 

This statement of the apostle that there is no re- 
spect of persons with God^ is one of vast importance 
to the human race. It should finally dispose of the 
notion that God chose some to eternal life and left 
others to perish, without any foresight of faith or 
good works. Such difference made without any re- 
spect to character would certainly be respect of per- 
sons ; for it would respect nothing else. Men often 
imagine that because they know more than others, and 
claim or profess more than others, that therefore God 
will deal more leniently with them than with others. 
The Jew imagined that he possessed this superiority 
over the Gentile. The professed Christian also often 
supposes that he has this advantage over the non- 
professor ; that though he may live as other men 
live, and sin as other men do, that God will save 
him while condemning the others. This is a vain 
hope. If there be any advantage it is not in favor 
of the ungodly professor of Christianity. His re- 
sponsibilities are greater and his guilt is correspond- 
ingly greater. It is a difficult matter to convince 
men that God is strictly impartial, and that He re- 
spects character alone. 



S^ A COMMENTARY 

12. For as many as have sinned without law shall also 
perish without law : and as many as have sinned in the law 
shall be judged by the law ; 

13. (For not the hearers of the law are just before God, 
but the doers of the law shall be justified. 

14. For when the Gentiles, which have not the law, do 
by nature the things contained in the law, these, having not 
the law, are a law unto themselves : 

15. Which shew the work of the law written in their 
hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and t/ieir 
thoughts the mean while accusing or else excusing one an- 
other;) 

In the foregoing statements St. Paul is not attempt- 
ing to show how either Jew or Gentile can be saved, 
but how they shall be judged, or what is the stand- 
ard of judgment in the case of each. He does not 
say that any one shall be saved by keeping the law, 
but that each shall be judged by the standard he 
possesses. If those who have sinned without law 
shall perish without law, then all shall perish; for 
" All have sinned and come short of the glory of 
God." They must be saved upon some other basis, 
if saved at all. By the law here spoken of is meant 
the decalogue. The Gentiles did many things con- 
tained in that law as fully as did the Jews, though 
they were ignorant of the existence of that law. 
Their keeping the law is true particularly of the 
duties which they owed to their neighbors. In some 
way they recognized those things to be wrong which 
the law forbids. What is the origin of this moral 



A COMMENTARY 39 



sense which all men possess to a greater or 
degree is a mooted question. The apostle says they 
did by nature the things contained in the law. I am 
persuaded that this natural sense of right and wrong, 
called conscience, is the result of light from God, 
through the agency of the Holy spirit, which comes 
to all men through Jesus Christ, who is a light that 
lighteth every man that cometh into the world, as 
declared by St. John. This light measures their re- 
sponsibility where there is no other revelation. 

16. In the day when God shall judge the secrets of men 
by Jesus Christ according to my gospel. 

This verse should be read in connection with the 
12th, the other three verses having been thrown in 
by way of explanation. The idea of a general judg- 
ment, a day in which all secret things shall be made 
manifest, is found only in the scriptures. The belief 
in a future state of rewards and punishments was 
common among the heathen ; but they had no notion 
of a special day of judgment. The common opinion 
among nominal Christians, that the saved and the 
unsaved are to be judged at that time, is also erro- 
neous. That the righteousness of saints, and the fact 
of their innocence and acceptance with God, may be 
made manifest on that day, may be true enough ; but 
their cases will have been passed on and their rewards 
received, long before that tremendous day. It is the 



40 A COMMENTARY 

things that have been kept covered, the secrets of ?7icn, 
that shall be judged on that day. God is glorified 
in having sin exposed ; and if we will not uncover 
and confess our sin ourselves, God will uncover it. 
He has declared " there is nothing covered that shall 
not be revealed." We have the choice of uncovering 
our sins now, or of having them uncovered then. If 
w^e uncover them, God will cover them. " Blessed 
is the man whose iniquities are forgiven and whose 
sins are covered." When once God has covered 
them, they shall never again be uncovered. They 
shall be forgotten forever. "If we judge ourselves 
we shall not be judged and condemned with the 
wicked world." Judgment is going on now; it is 
begun at the house of God. Let us be sure that if 
we keep any sin concealed, God will expose it, and 
we shall be judged and condemned with the wicked 
world. This day of judgment referred to here by 
the apostle, will come after Christ's Millennial reign, 
and after the resurrection of the wicked dead. The 
commonly received notions upon the general judg- 
ment are crude and often unscriptural. 

17. Behold, thou art called a Jew, and restest in the law, 
and makest thy boast of God, 

The name "Jew " meant originally a member of the 

tribe of Judah ; but it afterward came to be applied to 

the whole Hebrew nation. It was not used until 



A COMMENTARY 4 1 

about the time of the dispersion of the ten tribes, 
after which event the tribe of Judah constituted the 
larger part of the Israelites left. The name properly 
belonged to one who was in covenant relation with 
God. They rested in the law, considering them- 
selves the special favorites of Heaven, because they 
possessed the law ; and they made their boast of 
God, of their relation to Him as His chosen people. 

18. And knowest his will, and approvest the things that are 
more excellent, being instructed out of the law; 

Because they knew God's will and approved of it, 

they imagined themselves much superior to those who 

were ignorant, not realizing that a knowledge of the 

right and an approval of it in theory, only added to 

their condemnation if they failed to do God's will. 

This address to the Jew, made here by the apostle, 

might with great pertinency be applied to modern 

professors of Christianity. How often they plume 

themselves upon their knowledge of divine things, 

and their acceptance of good doctrines, while they 

live in disobedience and open disregard of God's 

demands upon them. 

19. And art confident that thou thyself art a guide of the 
blind, a light of them which are in darkness, 

20. An instructor of the foolish, a teacher of babes, which 
hast the form of knowledge and of the truth in the law. 

Persons who, like these Jews, have a form of 

knowledge of the truth, without any real experience, 



42 A COMMENTARY 

are generally confident of their ability to instruct 
others. They have a knowledge that puffeth up and 
fills them with self-confidence. They are ready to 
run without being sent. When men become truly 
qualified for the work of teaching others, they have, 
become so sensible of their own weakness, and of 
the responsibility of the work, that they hesitate, and 
cry out in dismay, "Who is sufficient for such 
things.^ " A forwardness to teach, and a readiness 
to assume the responsibilities of a spiritual guide, 
are not favorable signs of a fitness for the work. 

21. Thou therefore that teachest another, teachest thou not 
thyself.? thou that preachest a man should not steal, dost thou 
steal ? 

22. Thou that sayest a man should not commit adultery, 
dost thou commit adultery.? thou that abhorrest idols, dost 
thou commit sacrilege? 

23. Thou that makest thy boast of the law, through 
breaking the law dishonorest thou God ? 

It is a matter of great astonishment that any one 

should suppose that a knowledge of the right, and a 

teaching of righteousness would palliate or excuse 

wrongdoing. One might suppose that the apostle 

had overdrawn the case, did not observation prove 

the contrary. It is a matter of common observation 

that men suppose themselves in God's favor, and on 

the road to heaven, because they profess righteousness 

and teach righteousness, while they themselves are 

daily transgressors of God's law. There is no more 



A COMMENTARY 43 

common error than this, however absurd it may 
seem. Why any man should imagine that God will 
not punish him for trangressions that he himself 
declares God will punish other men for, is one of the 
strange idiosyncrasies of human nature. Was it any 
worse for a Gentile to steal than for a Jew to do so? 
And is it any more sinful for a common sinner to lie 
than for a professed Christian to do so? And will 
God excuse the one and punish the other? There is 
no respect of persons witji God. 

24. For the name of God is blasphemed among the Gen- 
tiles through jou, as it is written. 

Their violations of their laws and the inconsistency 
between their lives and their teachings caused the 
name of God to be spoken against. The same is true 
of false professors of Christianity, "by reason of 
whom the way of truth is evil spoken of." There 
is no influence so potent in producing skepticism and 
unbelief in Christ's teachings as the ungodly lives of 
professed Christians. The most convincing evidence 
of the truth of Christianity is wanting among un- 
faithful disciples. The efforts of infidel teachers will 
have little effect where God's professed people are 
obedient and faithful. 

25. For circumcision verily profiteth, if thou keep the law : 
but if thou be a breaker of the law, thy circumcision is made 
uncircumcision. 



44 A COMMENTARY 

Circumcision in the flesh was the sign and seal of 
the covenant which God made with the natural seed 
of Abraham. This covenant concerned only earthly 
things. Its highest rewards were long life, riches, 
health, and dominion over enemies ; its severest pun- 
ishment, physical death. "He that despised Moses' 
law died without mercy, under two or three wit- 
nesses." If the Jew broke the law, he made the 
covenant null, so that his circumcision could not 
profit him ; it became meaningless ; and hence equal 
to uncircumcision. 

26, Therefore if the uncircumcision keep the righteousness 
of the law, shall not his uncircumcision be counted for cir- 
cumcision? 

This is nothing more than justice, but was quite 
unpalatable to the Jews, who looked upon themselves 
as being specially favored of God, and His exclusive 
beneficiaries ; while he regarded the uncircumcised 
Gentile with contempt, as an outcast from mercy, a 
dog, beneath the notice of Jehovah. This doctrine 
of the equality of Jew and Gentile must have been 
particularly obnoxious to them. 

27. And shall not uncircumcision which is by nature, if it 
fulfil the law, judge thee, who by the letter and circumcision 
transgress the law? 

To judge, here signifies to condemn. And surely if 
the Gentile without revelation did that which was 



A COMMENTARY 45 

lawful, while the Jew, who enjoyed the light of rev- 
elation violated the law, the former would condemn 
the latter. And yet it is generally supposed that 
professed Christians who transgress God's command- 
ments are in some way far superior to non-professors 
who keep those commandments. The former are 
supposed to be heirs of Heaven, while the latter are 
heirs of perdition. 

In all that the apostle has said concerning the keep- 
ing of the law, by either Jew or Gentile, we are to 
understand that neither secured eternal life by so 
doing. This is impossible, as the apostle shows in 
another place. The intent of his argument is to 
show the self-sufficient Jew that in his need of sal- 
vation he was on an exact equality with the Gentile. 
The great mass of the Jewish people stumbled at 
this stumbling-stone. 

28. For he is not a Jew, which is one outwardly; neither 
IS that circumcision, which is outward in the flesh : 

29. But he is a Jew, which is one inwardly; and circum- 
cision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter; 
whose praise is not of men, but of God. 

The apostle here states a very important fact, or 
principle. The Jew here is made to mean one of 
God's people. The Jew who was one outwardly, 
was a Jew in the fullest sense, so far as the old cove- 
nant was concerned. There was then no other kind of 
Jew. But the old covenant church was not the real 



46 A COMMENTARY 

church of God, and so the Jew outwardly was not one 
of God's real people. The circumcision which was out- 
ward in the flesh was the only circumcision then in 
existence. The circumcision of the heart was then 
unknown. " For the whole house of Israel is uncir- 
cumcised in heart," declares the prophet. To this 
universal rule there was no exception. The Jewish 
church was a type of the true church, and the Jew was 
a type of the real child of God. Circumcision of the 
heart is the real circumcision ; and this work is the 
taking away of inward sin, "the sins of the flesh," 
and the establishment of inward purity. Only such 
as have experienced this spiritual purification are the 
children of God. 

General Observations. 

God's dealings with the Jewish people and their 
relation to Him, and to the Gentile nations, are mat- 
ters of peculiar interest. Upon these subjects much 
might be said for which there is not space here. 
Shortly after the deluge, the nations began to relapse 
into idolatry ; and this apostasy became so general 
that the knowledge of the true God was likely to be 
lost entirely. To prevent this calamity, and to keep 
alive a hope of the promised Messiah, as well as to pre- 
serve the revelation received from God, one nation 



A COMMENTARY 47 

was chosen as a repository of these precious truths. 
In order that these ends might be accomplished, this 
nation must be separated from the others, and must 
be dealt with in a peculiar manner. They must be 
made to feel that they were the special favorites of 
Heaven, and that they possessed exceptional holiness 
which would make it pollution to associate familiarly 
with others not thus favored. They must be filled 
with the spirit of exclusiveness, or the result would 
be inevitable failure of the plan. This, no doubt, 
tended to develop spiritual pride and superciliousness, 
and did not make the Jewish character a lovable one; 
but in spite of the contempt of the Jews for other 
nations, whom they regarded as dogs, it was with 
great difficulty they were kept from imitating their 
idolatries. This tutelage of the Israelites was not for 
their own benefit alone, but for the benefit of the 
race. They were not chosen because they were any 
better than other peoples, as Moses assures them, but 
it is probable God saw in their national traits, some- 
thing peculiarly adapted to His purpose. A large 
part of the nation became incorrigibly idolatrous and 
were carried away by the King of Assyria, scattered 
among the nations and lost. But the two tribes of 
Judah and Benjamin, with the priests and Levites, 
were kept comparatively free from idolatry, especially 
after the Babylonish captivity, and were as far as 



48 A COMMENTARY 

possible prepared for the manifestation of the Son of 
God among them. 

We are not to suppose that the God of infinite im- 
partiality had any special love for Jews over Gentiles. 
In His dealings w^ith them He had the good of the 
human race in purpose. Nor can it be said that dis- 
cipline especially fitted the Jews for the reception of 
the gospel, of which they had the first offer. Rather 
the contrary appears to be true. It was difficult for 
the Jew to acknowledge the equality of the Gentile 
in church privileges ; and then he had so long been 
taught to acquire merit by obedience to law, that the 
doctrine of salvation by grace was a stumbling-block 
to him. A remnant was saved ; but the great mass 
of the Jewish people refused to come in to the gos- 
pel feast where Gentiles were equally welcome. 



CHAPTER III. 

1. What advantage then hath the Jew? or what profit t's 
there of circumcision? 

2. Much every way : chiefly, because that unto them were 
committed the oracles of God. 

An oracle is a Divine revelation. In Acts VII-38, 
Moses is said to have received and transmitted "the 
lively oracles." This refers to the five books of 
Moses, the Pentateuch, or the book of the law, as 
it is elsewhere called. St. Stephen here recognizes 
the Pentateuch as being Divinely inspired. Jesus 
joins the law and the prophets together, thus recog- 
nizing the inspiration of both. The other sacred 
writings of the Old Testament were not so highly 
venerated by the Jews, though they are included by 
them among the oracles of God. But the sacred 
book was not the only oracle among the Israelites. 
Each prophet was a living oracle by whom God spake 
in times past unto his people. Then the priest wear- 
ing the ephod was also an oracle who might be con- 
sulted concerning the will of God. In this case God 
was said to answer by Urim and Thummim. This 
possession of a Divine Revelation, and the possession 
4 (49) 



50 A COMiMENTARY 

of living oracles by whom the will of God might be 
learned in any emergency, was a great advantage to 
the Jew, most certainly. The Gentiles also had 
oracles, but they were lying oracles, presided over by 
demons, who could not foretell events in the future. 
The importance of ascertaining the will of God was 
keenly felt by the pagans. Hence the existence of 
soothsayers and augurs who pretended to understand 
portents, and to be able to foretell the future by 
means of the flight of birds, or by the examination 
of the entrails of victims slain in sacrifice. As for 
Christians, they have the Holy Spirit to teach them 
the will of God, and if willing to do His will they 
shall know His will. 

3. For what if some did not believe? shall their unbelief 
make the faith of God without effect? 

4. God forbid: yea, let God be true, but every man a liar; 
as it is written, That thou mightest be justified in thy sayings, 
and mightest overcome when thou art judged. 

The unbelief and unfaithfulness of many of those 
to whom the promise was made, that is, a large part 
of the Jewish nation, could not affect the faithful- 
ness of God nor the truth of His promises. To the 
Jews it seemed that God could not reject them with- 
out repudiating His promises. I shall have more to 
say on this point farther on. 

The apostle does not use the phrase "God forbid." 
The name of the Deity is not used. The phrase used 



A COMMENTARY 51 

means " not at all " or " by no means." St. Paul did 
not fail to reverence God's name, if the translators 
did so fail. 

It is a common practice among men to set them- 
selves up as God's critics and judges, informing us 
what part of God's word is credible and what is not. 
This might seem presumptuous at first glance, but 
its commonness has reconciled most people to the 
practice. This is true both of theologians and of 
scientists. The *' higher criticism" of the theological 
critics is so exalted, that those critics can look down 
upon the Almighty only with tolerance and ill-con- 
cealed contempt. The scientists can account for the 
origin of life and for other existing conditions with- 
out any need of an Infinite Creator ; and God is ex- 
cluded, in their systems, from His own universe. 
Nevertheless, I am convinced that, in the end, God 
will be found true, and many self-sufficient wise men 
will be found liars. There is yet in the world much 
that the inspired writer calls " pseudo-science," con- 
sisting of a small modicum of fact and a large per 
cent of conjecture. No well authenticated scientific 
fact contradicts any revealed truth. 



5. But if our unrighteousness commend the righteousness 
of God, what shall we say? Is God unrighteous who taketh 
vengeance? (I speak as a man.) 

6. God forbid: for then how shall God judge the world? 



52 A COMMENTARY 

7. For if the truth of God hath more abounded through 
my lie unto his glory; why yet am I also judged as a sinner? 

The fifth and seventh verses seem to contain an 
objection urged by a Jew. The point of the objec- 
tion seems to be this: "If my disobedience tends to 
magnify God's faithfulness in keeping His part of the 
covenant, vv^hy should I be punished for doing that 
w^hich brings glory to God? " The sixth verse con- 
tains the apostle's answer: "how on this principle 
could God judge the world?" There would be no 
distinction between righteousness and unrighteousness, 
if both were rewardable. By speaking as a man, the 
apostle probably means that he is speaking the senti- 
ments of another, and not his own. 

8. And not rather^ (as we be slanderously reported, and 
as some affirm that we say,) Let us do evil, that good may 
come? whose damnation is just. 

This charge which the apostle sets forth here at 
some length, was brought against the Christians by 
their enemies, probably their Jewish opposers. The 
charge was presumably founded upon the doctrine of 
grace, a charge which others since have made, that 
grace encourages sin, since punishment may be 
avoided by repentance. This charge was made mali- 
ciously, as the objector knew it to be false, so that his 
condemnation is just. If the sorrow of this world 
brought pardon this charge might have some ground 



A COMMENTARV 53 

to stand upon. But as nothing short of godly sorrow 
will prepare us for the exercise of God's mercy, there 
is nothing which so discourages the repetition of the 
offence. Much of that which passes for repentance 
and pardon, gives men a false conception of sin, mak- 
ing it appear as a light thing to sin against God, 
and thus encourages transgressors to presume upon 
Divine mercy. But the gospel is not responsible for 
this perversion of its doctrines. The idea that it is 
proper to do evil that good might come is common. 
It is a doctrine generally received. It is taught in 
our Universities by professors of Ethics. Yet it is 
just as damnable a doctrine now as when the first 
Christians were accused of teaching it. 

9. What then? Are we better than they? No, in no wise: 
for we have before proved both Jews and Gentiles, that they 
are all under sin; 

In respect of their need of salvation, there was no 
difference between Jew and Gentile. All that had 
been done for the Jews could have no further effect 
than to make ready a people prepared for the Lord. 
In this respect, it was a failure so far as the great 
majority were concerned. It was a very humiliating 
lesson for the Jew to learn, that in spite of his great 
advantage and his high pretensions, he must secure 
salvation on exactly the same terms with those whom 
he had been taught to despise as outcasts. Notwith- 



54 A COxMMENTARY 

standing all that had been done for the race, up to 
the time of Christ's advent, the result was to leave 
all men, without exception, under sin and condem- 
nation. 

10. As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one: 

11. There is none that understandeth, there is none that 
seeketh after God. 

12. They are all gone out of the way, they are together 
become unprofitable: there is none that doeth good, no, not 
one. 

13. Their throat is an open sepulchre; with their tongues 
they have used deceit; the poison of asps t's under their lips: 

14. Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness : 

15. Their feet are swift to shed blood : 

16. Destruction and misery are in their ways : 

17. And the way of peace have they not known: 

18. There is no fear of God before their eyes. 

What a description of fallen humanity ! But this 
is God's view of natural men. But it may be 
asked, are not some persons mentioned in the Old 
Testament said to be righteous? Yes, Abel and Lot 
are called righteous, and Noah is said to have 
become heir of the righteousness which is by faith. 
Abraham's faith was also imputed to him for right- 
eousness. In this sense all pre-advent believers were 
righteous. But they were righteous only in the same 
sense infants are righteous, by imputation. They 
were not actually so. The righteousness of the law 
was not fulfilled in them. In hearty and generally 
in conduct, they were not righteous. Abraham, the 



A COMMENTARY 55 

most perfect character of the Old Testament was a 
polygamist, a liar, and a man of war. Moses was a 
murderer, David an adulterer and murderer, Lot was 
guilty of drunkenness and incest. That righteousness 
or holiness which brings men into unity and fellow- 
ship with God, they were destitute of. Therefore it 
is truly said, there is none righteous, no, not one. 

19. Now we know that what things soever the law saith, 
it saith to them who are under the law : that every mouth 
may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before 
God. 

Since this is true the Jew could not avoid the 
conclusion that he was meant, as he, rather than the 
Gentile, was under the law. It is a strange circum- 
stance that the above scripture from the loth to the 
i8th verse, including both, is often quoted to prove 
the sinfulness of believers. This shows two things : 
ist, great ignorance of the scriptures ; 2nd, the 
fallacy and impropriety of quoting a passage of 
scripture regardless of the context. Scripture may 
thus be made to teach falsehoods and absurdities. 
The effort of the apostle is to prove the need of all 
men, both Jews and Gentiles, of Christ and His Sal- 
vation. As what is here quoted by St. Paul applies 
to them who are under the law, and as believers 
under the gospel are said to be not under the law, 
but under grace, it cannot apply to them. It is of 



56 A COMMENTARY 

men in their natural state it can be said, there is 
none good. 

20. Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh 
be justified in his sight : for hy the law is the knowledge of 
sin. 

Herein is laid down a fundamental principle of the 
doctrine of grace. To the Jew it seemed revolu- 
tionary. It uprooted and overturned at one fell 
blow, all his righteousness and all his hope. It left 
him without a refuge and shelterless, as it does 
every other sinner, exposed to the wrath of God. 

" Faded his virtuous show, 
His form without the power." 

It annihilated his whole religious system, and filled 
him with both fear and wrath. It shoved him off 
his pedestal and confounded him with those whom 
he had been taught to despise as the enemies of God, 
the uncircumcised. Is it any wonder that he was 
stumbled? 

The fact that dy the laiv is t/ic knozv/cdgc of sin is 
proof that it cannot at the same time be a means of 
justification ; for how can the law at the same time 
prove a man a sinner and acquit or justify him.' 
The two offices are manifestly incompatible; the 
same agent cannot both condemn and acquit at the 
same time. 



A COMMENTARY 57 

21. But now the righteousness of God without the law is 
manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets; 

22. Even the righteousness of God -which is by faith of 
Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe : for there 
is no difference : 

23. For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of 
God ; 

By the Justification of God is meant God's manner, 
or plan, of justification. If man cannot be justified 
by obedience to law there must be some other plan 
of justification devised, if man is to be saved. He 
cannot be justified by the law because any law, obedi- 
ence to which would glorify God, is beyond his ability 
to obey. Hence such a law by occasioning transgres- 
sion, becomes the means of giving a knowledge of sin, 
both outward and inward. Justification by obedience 
to law is adapted to the condition of perfect beings, 
who are able to obey law in letter and in spirit. 
Sinners must be justified, if justified at all, on a dif- 
ferent plan. This plan, which is called God's plan, 
is salvation by grace, through faith as the condition. 
These plans differ as far as perfect, sinless intelligences 
differ from lost sinners, and they cannot be mingled 
nor harmonized. 

When men are w^ithout law, they cannot be said 
to sin in the same sense as they do who have a law ; 
for " where there is no law there is no transgression." 
But such have come shoi't of the glory of God. God 
is glorified by the love and consequent obedience of 



58 A COMMENTARY 

His creatures. But all men are by nature destitute 
of love to God ; hence they come short of His glory. 

24. Being justified freely by his grace through the redemp- 
tion that is in Christ Jesus : 

25. Whom God hath set forth to he a propitiation through 
faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remis- 
sion of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God ; 

26. To declare, I say, at this time his righteousness: that 
he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in 
Jesus. 

The first characteristic of God's plan of justification 
is its freeness ; ^^ being justijied freely by his grace, ^^ 
is the apostle's way of expressing this truth. Since 
the sinner is unable to do anything to please God, 
his pardon must be a free gift. But upon what 
principle can God pardon the offender? How can 
He exercise mercy without sacrificing justice? How 
can law and order be upheld if the innocent and the 
guilty are treated in the same way? St. Paul sees in 
God's scheme redemption and propitiation. The doc- 
trine of a vicarious atonement through the Lord Jesus 
Christ is absolutely essential to this scheme of saving 
sinners. To deny this, is to vitiate the whole plan. 
It is not only necessary that we should have his life as 
our example, we must also have his death as a pro- 
pitiation for us. It is through faith in his blood that 
we are to receive remission of sins that are past. 
In his vicarious sacrifice the law has been vindicated, 
justice has been satisfied so far that God can he just 



A COMMENTARY 59 

and yd the justijier of hi?n %vhic1i believeth in Jesus. 
The only condition on the sinner's part is faith in 
his blood. Doing nothing to merit pardon, he trusts 
alone in Jesus' death for the remission of sins. Re- 
mission of sins includes not only the idea of pardon, 
but also that of purification. The word "remit" 
signifies taking, or sending, away. The original 
Greek word has the same meaning. Christ is not 
only our sacrifice but also our scape-goat, who takes 
away our sins. He came to make an end of sin, and 
to bring in everlasting righteousness. 

27. Where is boasting then? It is excluded. By what law? 
of works? Nay: but by the law of faith. 

That which we receive as a free gift, and which 
we have in no sense earned or merited, affords no 
ground for boasting. But if we in any sense earn or 
merit w^hat we receive, we may have occasion to 
boast. We can take some of the credit to ourselves. 
But as God cannot possibly be brought under obliga- 
tion to one who has nothing to pay, the sinner can 
never glory before God. Boasting can never be made 
impossible by a scheme in which obedience to law, 
that is, works, is made the condition of acceptance 
with God. Salvation, by grace, alone can exclude 
boasting. 

28. Therefore we conclude that a man is justified bj faith 
without the deeds of the law. 



6o A COMMENTARY 

This is, perhaps, the first dogmatic statement in the 
scriptures of the doctrine of justification by faith 
alone, without works. It is clear and unmistakable ; 
a doctrine long obscured by the Romish church but 
clearly enunciated by the early Protestant reformers ; 
a doctrine declared by them to be wholesome and very 
full of comfort. As the Jews trusted in obedience to 
law for justification it was necessary to overthrow that 
system, that God's plan might take its place. So the 
apostle Paul argues the question at length in this 
epistle. 

29. Is he the God of the Jews only? is he not also of the 
Gentiles? Yes, of the Gentiles also: 

30. Seeing it is one God, which shall justify the circum- 
cision by faith, and uncircumcision through faith. 

31. Do we then make void the law through faith? God 
forbid : yea, we establish the law. 

The Jews fell into the error of supposing that 
Jehovah was peculiarly their God, instead of being 
the God of the whole earth. The apostle has to re- 
mind them that He is the God of the Gentiles also. 
It is sometimes supposed that there is some hidden 
significance in the use of two different prepositions 
before the word "faith," by faith, and through faith. 
I see nothing in this but an avoidance of repetition ; 
the two prepositions mean the same thing, the means 
or instrument. The objection that faith would jnakc 
void the law is denied by the apostle, who asserts, 



A COMMENTARY 6 1 

on the contrary, that faith establishes the law. The 
law is established in that every jot and tittle of it is 
fulfilled either by the believer or his substitute, the 
Lord Jesus Christ. As to the believer, the essence 
or righteousness of it is fulfilled in him. In the let- 
ter, it is fulfilled by our Representative and Vicar, 
the Lord Jesus. Thus, what at first sight seems to 
abolish the law, really firmly establishes it. 



CHAPTER IV. 

1. What shall we say then that Abraham our father, as per- 
taining to the flesh, hath found? 

2. For if Abraham were justified by works, he hath Tuhercof 
to glory; but not before God. 

Martin Luther understood St. James to contradict St. 
Paul, when he declares that Abraham was justified 
by works. (James II-2ist.) But this is a mistake, 
as he was not speaking of the same thing. James 
was speaking of works of obedience after justification, 
which justified or proved the genuineness of his 
faith. So by works was his faith made perfect. No 
faith is genuine which is not accompanied, or 
followed by, obedience to God's commandments. 

3. For what saith the scripture? Abraham believed God, 
and it was counted unto him for righteousness. 

Abraham's faith was counted unto him for right- 
eousness^ or justification. His faith was accepted in 
the place of righteousness or obedience. He could 
not keep God's holy law, but he could believe God's 
promise ; so what he could do, was accepted in place 

of that which he could not do. Not that the two were 
(62) 



A COMMENTARY 63 

equivalent. There can really be no merit in believing 
God. It is the only rational thing to do. As 
obedience is due and faith pays no part of the debt, 
there must be some amends made somewhere, so that 
God may justly pardon the sinner. Herein we see 
the necessity for a vicarious atonement. We may say 
that God has the power to pardon sin unconditionally. 
But can it be done justly? And can moral order be 
maintained in this way? I think not. A difference 
must be made between the innocent and the guilty ; 
between the obedient and the disobedient. If both 
are treated alike, sin is encouraged and obedience 
is discouraged. The law must be kept by some one, 
either by the subject of it, or by one who voluntarily 
assumes an obligation not required of the substitute. 
Christ, as a mere man, owed obedience for himself. 
He could not then have obeyed for others. As a 
divine being, not subject to law, he could obey for 
us, as well as suffer for us. This was necessary that 
God might justly pardon sin. We are not to suppose 
that Christ suffered to appease the wrath of God, 
except in the sense of offended justice. Justice must 
be done, and mercy must not prevent it. The two 
must be made to harmonize. This could be done on 
no other conceivable basis except that of vicarious 
atonement. On this basis, faith could be counted for 
righteousness. 



64 A COMMENTARY 

4. Now to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of 
grace, but of debt. 

This fact is self-evident. If the sinner can per- 
form any work of obedience, he would bring God in 
debt to him. The worker would be simply receiving 
what he had earned. If the subject of law can 
render a perfect obedience to law, he will merit 
justification. But there must be no lack anywhere or 
he falls short of justification into condemnation. If 
he offends in one point he is guilty of the whole. 
But this scheme of justification is a rejection of Christ 
and of His grace, since He is not needed. The man 
who can thus obey, can stand alone and needs no 
Redeemer or Advocate, provided there are no past 
sins to account for. 

5. But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him 
that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for right- 
eousness. 

The man who feels himself unable perfectly to keep 
God's law, seeing no hope of justification in that 
way, is ready for some other plan. As he cannot 
keep the whole law it is useless to labor to keep any 
of it, as it avails him nothing; so he ceases working; 
he worketh not. He must be saved by grace or not 
at all. But the condition of salvation by grace is 
not working, but believing. If I am to be justified 
by works, I need no grace and consequently no 



A COMMENTARY 65 

faith. If I am to be justified by grace, I need no 
merit, consequently I need no works. My works 
would only be a denial of the grace of God, and 
consequently a hindrance to my justification by grace 
through faith. These two plans of justification cannot 
be commingled as they mutually exclude each other. 

6. Even as David also describeth the blessedness of the 
man, unto whom God imputeth righteousness without works, 

7. Saying., Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven, 
and whose sins are covered. 

8. Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not impute 
sin. 

In this place the apostle first speaks of i7iifuted 

righteousness; though the same thing is meant by 

counting faith for righteousness. There has been much 

controversy over this doctrine, and I will speak of 

it more fully in another place. 

9. Cometh this blessedness then upon the circumcision 
only^ or upon the uncircumcision also? for we say that faith 
was reckoned to Abraham for righteousness. 

10. How was it then reckoned? when he was in circumcision, 
or in uncircumcision? Not in circumcision, but in uncircumci- 
sion. 

11. And he received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the 
righteousness of the faith which he had yet being uncircum- 
cised : that he might be the father of all them that believe, 
though they be not circumcised ; that righteousness might be 
imputed unto them also : 

St. Paul here shows that the doctrine of justifica- 
tion by faith, which the Jews so opposed, and at 
which they stumbled, was older than circumcision 

5 



66 A COMMENTARY 

and the law of Moses ; that their father Abraham 
was justified before he was circumcised, so that this 
rite could have had nothing to do in procuring his 
justification. If uncircumcised Abraham could be 
justified, why not any other uncircumcised man? 
Moreover, so far was circumcision from being the 
cause of justification, it was the result of it ; since it 
was because of Abraham's faith that he was chosen 
to be the progenitor of God's ancient People ; and 
thus his circumcision was rather the seal of God's 
approval of his faith while uncircumcised. Hence no 
ground was left to the Jews for the exclusive appro- 
priation of God's promises. 

12. And the father of circumcision to them who are not 
of the circumcision only, but who also walk in the steps of 
that faith of our father Abraham, which he had being yet un- 
circumcised. 

The apostle will not even allow that all the Jews 
are the children of Abraham in so high a sense as 
the believing Gentiles. Only those Jews who follow 
in the steps of Abraham's faith are in this sense 
Abraham's children. Other Jews are Abraham's 
children in a lower sense, a natural sense. To such 
no promises were made except concerning the land of 
Canaan and their occupancy of the land. By diso- 
bedience they made void these promises and had 
nothing left. 



A COMMENTARY 67 

13. For the promise, that he should be the heir of the 
world, -was not to Abraham, or to his seed, through the law, 
but through the righteousness of faith. 

14. For if they which are of the law be heirs, faith is 
made void, and the promise made of none effect : 

The promise made to Abraham that he should be 
heir of the world was to be fulfilled to his seed, and 
we are told in another place that this seed was 
Christ. To make faith void^ is to make it empty or 
useless. If men were to inherit the things promised 
by works of obedience, then there was no use nor 
necessity for faith, and thus it would be made void, and 
the promise made of no effect. 

15. Because the law worketh wrath: for where no law is, 
tJieye is no transgression. 

Among unholy beings a holy law worketh wrath^ 
because of their inability to obey it. Among holy 
and perfect intelligences the law has no such effect. 
They live by obedience, and merit favor instead of 
wrath. If unholy beings were given no law it is 
plain there would be no transgression. However the 
absence of law would not save them from ruin 
and suffering, the result of their unholiness, though 
it would prevent their being guilty of actual trans- 
gression. 

16. Therefore // is of faith, that it might he by grace; to 
the end the promise might be sure to all the seed ; not to that 
only which is of the law, but to that also which is of the faith 
of Abraham; who is the lather of us all, 



68 A COMMENTARY 

Justification is of faith that it might be by grace, 
and it is of grace through faith because it is not 
possible on any other basis in the case of lost sinners. 
If there had been a law given that could have given 
life, verily salvation would have been by the law. 
Salvation by grace is an exception, a solecism, in 
God's moral universe. 

17. (As it is written, I have made thee a father of many 
nations,) before him whom he believed, eve7i God, who quick- 
eneth the dead, and calleth those things which be not as though 
they were. 

God promised Abraham to make him the father of 
many nations, not of the Jewish nation only ; and 
though naturally he was the father of several nations 
or tribes, having had other sons than Isaac, yet he 
seems to have counted Isaac the only legitimate son, 
and so made him his only heir ; and thus Isaac and 
his descendants through Jacob, Esau having been 
discarded also, became heirs of the promises made to 
Abraham's natural seed. But the many nations in- 
cluded the Gentile nations along with the Jews ; and 
Abraham is declared to be, before God, the father of 
us all; all who are partakers of a like precious faith. 
God is said to speak of things as actually existing, 
which exist in His foreknowledge and purpose. 

18. Who against hope believed in hope, that he might be- 
come the father of many nations, according to that which was 
spoken, So shall thy seed be. 



A COMMENTARY 69 

Quite a trial was made of Abraham's faith in this 
promise of a son. Naturally speaking, the thing 
promised was impossible, and hence Abraham's faith 
in God was put to severe test. But Abraham, being 
assured that it was God who made the promise, be- 
lieved it with all his heart. The apparent impossi- 
bility was double, as it existed in both him and his 
wife. It is not strange that this was so with Sarah, 
who was ninety years old ; but it is somewhat sur- 
prising in the case of Abraham, who lived to the age 
of one hundred and seventy-five years, that he should 
have been impotent at a hundred years old. It is 
said of Moses at one hundred and twenty years of 
age, that his eye was not dim, nor his natural force 
abated. There is an apparent contradiction to this 
statement concerning Abraham in the history in 
Genesis. In the XXVth Chapter, ist and 2nd verses 
we read: *-Then again Abraham took a wife, and 
her name was Keturah. And she bare him Zimran, 
and Jokshan, and Medan, and Midian, and Ishbak, and 
Shuah." This is given after the account of Sarah's 
death, and would appear to have taken place after that 
event. But this is probably not the case ; because, first, 
it would contradict the statement concerning Abra- 
ham's impotency. We might obviate that difficulty by 
supposing that the miraculous restoration of vigor to 
Abraham was permanent. But there is still another 



70 A COMMENTARY 

objection. Keturah would have been a lawful wife 
after Sarah's death. But she is called a concubine. 
In the fifth and sixth verses we read: "And Abraham 
gave all that he had unto Isaac. But unto the sons 
of the concubines which Abraham had, Abraham gave 
gifts, and sent them away from Isaac his son, 
while he yet lived, eastward, unto the east country." 
As we know of but one other concubine, Hagar, 
Keturah must be reckoned a concubine also ; and be- 
sides her children are not recognized by Abraham as 
being legitimate. It is probable then that he took 
her during Sarah's lifetime. 

20. He staggered not at the promise of God through 
unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God; 

21. And being fully persuaded that, what he had promised, 
he was able also to perform. 

Abraham's faith was what would now be accounted 

the faith of ignorance. He did not know as do the 

scientists and wise men of to-day that the Almighty 

God is so fettered and hampered by natural laws 

that a miracle is an impossibility and not to be 

credited either as a matter of history or of promise. 

The apparent impossibility of the thing promised did 

not stagger him, as he believed that what God 

promised he was able to perform. Happy ignorance ! 

that produced such beneficent results. Surely this is 

an illustration of the adage that, "Where ignorance is 

bliss 'tis folly to be wise." 



A COMMENTARY 7 I 

22. And therefore it was imputed to him for right- 
eousness. 

23. Now it was not written for his sake alone, that it was 
imputed to him ; 

24. But for us also, to whom it shall be imputed, if we 
believe on him that raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead ; 

25. Who was delivered for our ofTences, and was raised 
again for our justification. 

Abraham's justification through belief of God's 
promise, is an example for succeeding ages. We 
are given to understand that we are to be justi- 
fied in exactly the same manner, on precisely the 
same terms. Abraham performed no act of service, 
no work of obedience in order to justification, 
but simply believed God's promise. So must we do. 
Those who teach that there must be some act of 
obedience precedent to justification, contradict the 
teaching of God's word, and destroy the analogy and 
force of the example given. To him that worketh 
not^ hut believeth^ his faith is counted for righteous- 
ness. To work is to make faith void. But it may 
be asked, is not repentance necessary? It is ; but not 
as a condition of justification, but as a condition of 
faith. If a sinner could believe in the Lord Jesus 
Christ without repentance, he could be saved without 
repentance. But this he cannot do. An impenitent 
sinner cannot trust God to save him. Abraham had 
already done that which is a type of repentance. 
He had forsaken the land of his nativity at God's 



72 A COMMENTARY 

call. Had he refused to do this, he never would 
have believed God's promise. 

We must believe a miracle too, as we must believe 
in one raised from the dead, raised for our just if ca- 
tion. Faith in an unresurrected Christ will do us no 
good; it will not justify us. He was also delivered 
for our offences. The faith that justifies is a sure 
belief in, and reliance upon, a vicarious sufferer, and 
a triumphant conqueror over death, hell, and the 
grave. A faith that "laughs at impossibilities " and 
finds God's promises " yea and amen, in Christ 
Jesus." 

General Observations. 

The doctrine of Imputed Righteousness was for- 
merly a much mooted question, but is seldom men- 
tioned by way of controversy at present, nor is it of- 
ten referred to at all. I shall not enter into the subject 
at any length here, but a cursory view of the doc- 
trine seems appropriate. Imputed righteousness is the 
counterpart of imputed sin. If the sins of men were 
imputed to Christ, then, in the same sense, the right- 
eousness of Christ is imputed to men. As Christ who 
is sinless was treated as though he were a sinner, so 
men who are sinful are treated as though they were 
righteous. This is true, in the first instance, of the 



A COMMENTARY 73 

human race in general. Christ is declared to be the 
Savior of all men, especially of them that be- 
lieve. He is not merely the possible Savior of all 
men, as sometimes explained, but the actual 
Savior of all men. John the Baptist said of him, 
*' Behold the Lamb of God, that taketh away the sin 
of the world." Adam's sin was the sin of the whole 
world, being imputed to all men, his posterity. And 
this sin would have produced eternal alienation from 
God, and consequently eternal misery had it not been 
taken away. But Christ took it away, so that though 
men suffer the temporary consequences of Adam's sin 
they shall never suffer its eternal consequences. As 
Adam's sin was imputed, bringing condemnation, so 
Christ's righteousness is imputed, bringing justifica- 
tion. The remedy is as wide as the disease. No per- 
son shall ever suffer eternally for any sinfulness or 
unholiness which was the direct consequence of 
Adam's sin, unless he has in the exercise of free choice 
made that sin his own. This insures the salvation of 
dying infants, idiots, and all irresponsible persons, by 
the imputation of Christ's righteousness. 

In the second place, all believers before Christ's 
advent, and up to the setting up of the spiritual 
kingdom at Pentecost, had nothing but imputed right- 
eousness. Christ had not yet come to make an end 
of sin arid to bring in everlasting righteousness. The 



74 A COMMENTARY 

law of the spirit of life in Christ Jesus had not yet 
made men free from the law of sin and death. Con- 
sequently those old covenant believers were not in 
any sense actually righteous. They had no holiness 
of heart. This experience is promised under the New 
Covenant alone. Hence as these believers had no 
inward holiness, and could not have perfect obedi- 
ence to a holy law, their righteousness was wholly 
imputed. 

In the third place, believers under the New Cov- 
enant must also have imputed righteousness ; but not 
in the same sense as the other classes spoken of. 
In the case of ancient believers, Christ's righteous- 
ness covered their unholiness, because the opportu- 
nity to be made holy was not present with them. 
They were not responsible for being born unholy, 
and no provision having yet been made for taking 
that unholiness away, they were not responsible for its 
continuance. So Christ's righteousness covered all 
their need. But the case is different with New Tes- 
tament believers. Provision is now made to renew 
and sanctify men. They need not retain their evil 
hearts of unbelief. They may be washed and sanc- 
tified and made pure and clean. Inwardly they may 
be made righteous, and to refuse or neglect to do so 
is to become responsible for their unholiness, which 
Christ's righteousness could no longer cover, else He 



A COMMENTARY 75 

would become the minister of sin. The Christian, so 
far as his heart, or moral nature, is concerned, is ac- 
tually made righteous or holy, so that in this respect 
he needs no imputed righteousness. " The righteous- 
ness of the law is fulfilled in him," a righteousness 
which exceeds the righteousness of the Scribes and 
Pharisees. This holiness is the work of the Holy 
Spirit, and is not his own in the sense of being 
wrought by him, but it is actually wrought in him 
by Divine agency. But in the matter of perfect obe- 
dience to the holy law he is still at fault, in that 
through his physical, and consequently his mental, 
imperfection, he cannot obey in act without mistake 
or infirmity. This imperfect service is overlooked 
through the imputation of Christ's righteousness. 

His perfect obedience is accepted in lieu of our 
imperfect one. In this sense alone is righteousness 
imputed to the Christian believer. 

In the case of the sinner coming to Christ for par- 
don, he is accepted just as Abraham was, and upon 
the same terms, as I have heretofore stated. Faith 
is imputed to him for righteousness. 

The instance of Abraham's justification is chosen 
as an illustration of the doctrine of justification by 
faith, not because it differs from many others, but 
because first, it is explicitly stated in Genesis that his 
faith was counted to him for righteousness ; and in the 



76 A COMMENTARY 

second place, because the promises were made to^him, 
and the covenant was established with him. His case 
is used as an argutnentum ad hominem to the Jews 
who trusted in their descent from Abraham for ac- 
ceptance with God ; and if the facts in his case could 
be turned against them, the foundation of their hope 
and confidence would be destroyed. This the apostle 
most effectually accomplished in the foregoing chapter. 



CHAPTER V. 

I. Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with 
God through our Lord Jesus Christ : 

We are now given the results of justification by- 
faith. The first result is feacc with God. Before, 
we were at enmity with Him and in rebellion 
against His government. We were unwilling that 
His will should be done, but wanted our own way. 
God, in Jesus Christ, was reconciled to the sinner, 
but the sinner is unreconciled to God. By repent- 
ance and faith the sinner becomes reconciled ; he 
accepts God's will as his will, and God's ways as 
right ways. The variance is at an end. He is 
pleased with God and God is pleased with him. 
Enmity and hatred have given place to love and 
unity. The carnal mind, which is enmity against 
God, and which prevents its possessor from pleasing 
God, has given place to the mind of Christ. Being 
in Christ, old things have passed away, and, behold, 
all things have become new. Nothing of revolt, or 
resistance to God, or of protest, is left in the man 
who is justified by faith. So having become com- 

(77) 



75 A COMMENTARY 

pletely reconciled to the will of God, there is real 
peace between his soul and God ; not smothered 
rebellion ever striving to break out into open conflict, 
but peace, quiet contentment, joyful acceptance of 
God's rule. To suppose, as some do, that a man 
whose nature is at enmity with God, and who is 
thus prevented from pleasing God, as the apostle 
declares in another place, to suppose, I say, that 
such an one is at peace with God, is the extreme of 
absurdity. 

2. By whom also we have access by faith into this grace 
wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. 

It is by Jesus Christ alone that ive have access into 
this grace of justification, and that through faith in 
His atoning merits ; and thus having access ive stand. 
It is held by some, who would magnify one grace at 
the expense of another, that God's people cannot 
stand in a state of justification, and that the second 
verse of this chapter refers to another grace than the 
one mentioned in the first verse. This assumption is 
purely gratuitous. There is not an iota of evidence 
for it. The apostle has been writing in the two 
preceding chapters about one subject only; viz., justi- 
fication by faith. In this chapter he draws his 
conclusion from his preceding arguments. The assump- 
tion that he changes his subject without any hint of 
so doing is foolish and inadmissible. This grace 



A COMMENTARY 79 

•wherein ive stand is the grace about which he has 
been previously speaking. The notion that God 
provides any state of grace for His people in which 
they cannot stand, or which they cannot maintain, is 
wholly unsupported by scripture, and absurd in 
itself. 

Those who are justified by faith also rejoice in 
hope of the glory of God. While in this life the 
Christian has his evil things, temptation, trial and 
reproach ; but he looks forward to a glorious reward, 
a blissful immortality. Believing God's promises of 
future blessedness he rejoices with joy unspeakable. 

3. And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also; 
knowing that tribulation worketh patience ; 

4. And patience, experience; and experience, hope: 

It is not so much because of tribulation that we 
glory, as in despite of it. We glory in it because 
of its good results. Tribulation signifies flailing, the 
process by which anciently the chaff and grain were 
separated. Trials and sufferings produce a like result 
in a spiritual sense. Enduring these things we learn 
to be patient. If they excite rebellion, they produce 
the opposite effect. Men cannot learn patience in 
prosperity and through success. By failure, by hope 
deferred, we learn to be patient and to wait. 

In patient submission to God's will we gain experi- 
ence of God's faithfulness and goodness. Suft'ering 



8o A COMMENTARY 

is necessary to us ; but unless it is borne in patience 
and humble submission, it will not benefit us. Ex- 
perience encourages hope. The more we learn of 
God the brighter will our hopes become, the stronger 
will be the hold which our anchor takes upon the 
things within the vail. 

5. And hope maketh not ashamed ; because the love of God 
is shed abroad in our hearts bj the Holy Ghost which is 
given unto us. 

Here is the foundation of all our joy and hope ; 
because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts 
by the Holy Ghost given to us. This gift of the Holy 
Spirit is the seal of our adoption, the earnest of our 
inheritance. Without this we have no proof of 
sonship, no assurance that God's promises are ours. 
But with this gift we have a foretaste of the joys of 
heaven, and a divine assurance of heirship in the 
heavenly kingdom. Because God has given us of His 
Spirit therefore we are always confident, as the 
apostle declares in another place. An experience 
without the gift of the Holy Spirit, is in no sense a 
Christian experience. 

By the gift of the Holy Spirit, the love of God is 
shed abroad in our hearts. The love of God is the 
new nature produced in us by the Holy Spirit. So 
we are said to be partakers of the divine nature, 
since God is love. We cannot love God until His 



A COMMENTARY 8 1 

love is shed abroad in us by the gift of the Holy 
Spirit. Because of this love, hope 77iaketh not ashamed. 
Believers have many temptations to be ashamed of 
Christ and of His words before a gainsaying genera- 
tion ; but the hope of heavenly bliss and of a glorious 
reward, buoys the soul above any sense of shame and 
makes it insensible to reproach and scorn. 

6. For when we were yet without strength, in due time 
Christ died for the ungodly. 

Without strength, that is without power to do the 
will of God. That this is the case is the first lesson 
to be learned in the doctrine of grace. It is humiliat- 
ing to human nature to confess itself helpless. But 
until this point is gained the Messiah's life and death 
will do us no good. The great difficulty with lost 
men is that they are ungodly. All outward sin and 
transgression spring from this unlikeness to God in 
our natures. Until this is remedied, no permanent re- 
lief is offered. 

7. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die : yet per- 
adventure for a good man some would even dare to die. 

8. But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while 
we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. 

No one would be willing to die in place of a bad 

man ; but some might be found willing to die for a 

good man. Jesus declared, Greater love hath no man 

than this, that he lay down his life for his friend. 

This is considered to be the highest test of love in 



82 A COMMENTARY 

man. But God's love toward us is commended by 
the fact that Christ died for sinners ; his enemies 
who were in rebellion against His righteous govern- 
ment. In this respect it far surpasses all mere human 
affection. 

9. Much more then, being now justified hy his blood, we 
shall be saved from wrath through him. 

If God so loved us when we were enemies to Him, 
as to give His Son to die for us, how muc/i ??zore 
will He save us from wrath now since we have been 
justijied by His blood, and have been brought into 
harmony with Him and with His laws. We have 
every reason to trust Him for present and eternal 
salvation. 

10. For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to 
God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, 
we shall be saved hj his life. 

We were not actually reconciled to God by Christ's 
death, but the means of reconciliation was thus pro- 
vided. The victim is slain and reconciliation will be 
complete when the sinner is willing to surrender. 
The atonement being made, and the means of recon- 
ciliation provided by Christ's death, wc shall be saved 
by his life. It was not sufficient for the salvation of 
sinners that Christ should die. He must also live 
again. His resurrection and ascension to heaven were 
just as essential. "He is able to save unto the 



A COMMENTARY S^ 

uttermost all who come unto God by him, seeing that 
he ever liveth to make intercession for them." The 
whole gospel plan depended upon his living again. 
The Holy Spirit would not be given until he 
ascended to the Father. It was by his resurrection 
that he led captivity captive, and obtained gifts for 
men. If he did not live he could not save. In 
another sense we are saved by his life, in that we 
live his life, which is a life unto God. In still 
another sense we may be said to be saved by the 
life of Christ. The Christian can fulfill the righteous- 
ness of the law by loving God and his neighbor, but 
not the letter of the law, on account of ignorance 
and infirmity. But the whole law in every jot and 
tittle, must be fulfilled by some one. This our Lord, 
who as a divine personage was not subject to law, 
did for us ; so that we are saved by his obedience as 
well as by his suffering on the cross. In this sense 
also we are saved by his life. 

II. And not only so^ but we also joy in God through our 
Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the atone- 
ment. 

The word here rendered "atonement" is a deriv- 
ative of the word in the loth verse translated 
"reconciled." Atonement then means reconciliation. 
The word "atonement" is from the Latin, signifying 
literally to be at one, or at-one-ment. 



84 A COMMENTARY 

12. Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world 
and death bj sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that 
all have sinned : 

It is evident that St. Paul believes the account 
given in the book of Genesis, of the creation and 
fall of man. His v^hole succeeding argument is based 
upon the facts given in that history. It is becoming 
quite common in these days for persons claiming to 
be Christians and even Christian ministers, to dis- 
credit this account, and to treat it as a myth, or at 
best an allegory. They have become too wise to 
believe such incredible fables, and they prefer to 
derive their origin from the ape. Such a way of 
accounting for the origin of man is so much more 
credible, if not creditable, to them. But the account 
given of man's original holiness and perfection, and 
his subsequent fall into sin, furnishes the facts up- 
on which the whole plan of redemption by Christ 
is based. Without these facts, the whole scheme is 
a chimera, a figment of the imagination, "Made of 
such stuff as dreams are, and as baseless as the fan- 
tastic visions of the morning." 

The statement that death e^itcred tJic %vorld' by sin 
is to be understood as referring to the human race. 
The lower animals were no doubt always subject to 
death. Their remains are found in the rocks, show- 
ing that they died long before the creation of man. 



A COMMENTARY 85 

Man was made an exception to the rule, until by sin 
he forfeited his right to the antidote against decay 
which God had provided for him. Then the laws 
controlling the material universe asserted their sway 
and man began to die. Death became universal 
because all had sinned. Not actually but by imputa- 
tion. When Adam fell, the race necessarily fell 
with him. He could not convey to them what he 
had lost, and all were counted as sinners. They 
were sinners in embryo, until they became sinners in 
fact. 

13. (For until the law sin was in the world: but sin is not 
imputed when there is no law. 

14. Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses, 
even over them that had not sinned after the similitude of 
Adam's transgression, who is the figure of him that was to 
come. 

Death reigned from Adam to Moses; that is, man- 
kind died just the same as afterward. It is true, 
too, that sin was in the world; man did those things 
that are contrary to the will of God. But the apostle 
declares that as there was no law yet promulgated 
their sins were not imputed to them, for sin is not 
imputed where there is no law. As death is the re- 
sult of sin, and it did not result from the personal 
sins of these persons without law, death must have 
resulted from the imputation of Adam's sin. This 
fact of the imputation of Adam's sin, is seen in the 



86 A COMMENTARY 

death of infants and other irresponsible persons, who 
cannot themselves commit sin. If death be an evil, 
and an untimely death must be held as such, at the 
least, then a just God cannot inflict such an evil with- 
out adequate cause. If the cause is not in the victim, 
it must be somewhere else. Adam is declared to be 
a figure of him that was to come, that is Christ. He 
is the head of the human race, as Christ is the head 
of the spiritual race, the children of God. So Christ 
is called the second Adam. 

15. But not as the offence, so also is the free gift. For if 
through the offence of one many be dead, much more the 
grace of God, and the gift by grace, which is by one man, 
Jesus Christ, hath abounded unto many. 

16. And not as it xvas by one that sinned, so is the gift: 
for the judgment -was by one to condemnation, but the free 
gift is of many offences unto justification. 

17. For if by one man's offence deatli reigned by one; 
much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the 
gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ.) 

In these verses the apostle is showing that we 
gain much more in Christ than we lost in Adam ; 
that the grace of God abounds far beyond the effect 
of Adam's sin ; that we are not only saved through 
the free gift of grace from the sin of the world but 
from the consequences of our own sins; sins against 
light and knowledge which we have voluntarily com- 
mitted ; that through Christ we are not only restored 
to the condition of Adam in paradise; to that earthly 



A COMMENTARY 87 

life which he enjoyed, but to a glorious immortality, 
to reign in life with Jesus Christ. No doubt the 
condition of the believer in Christ is far more favor- 
able than that of our first parents, and their future 
felicity is much more assured than could have been 
that of finite beings wholly unacquainted with evil. 
And besides the glorious character of Deity has been 
exemplified in a manner that was impossible in a 
universe wholly free from sin. And even the sin of 
the angels gave no room for this display of infinite 
love and mercy since their case did not admit of 
mercy. They were irretrievably lost. 

18. Therefore as bj the offence of one judgment came 
upon all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of 
one the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life. 

19. For as by one man's disobedience many were made 
sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made 
righteous. 

In these two verses the apostle declares that all that 
mankind lost in Adam is unconditionally restored 
through Christ. The jnany made 7'ighteous includes 
all the 7na7iy who were made sinners; and this com- 
prises the whole human race. As they sinned in 
Adam without any concurrence of their wills, so they 
are restored in Christ without condition on their part. 
Jesus Christ entirely '*taketh away" this "sin of the 
world." It was imputed to us in Adam, through 
Christ it is not imputed to us. It is true that un- 



88 A COMMENTARY 

holiness of nature is not taken away, if we live to 
become responsible, but it is not imputed to us so as 
to condemn us until by free choice we elect to retain 
it. " This is the condemnation that light is come 
into the world, and men love darkness rather than 
light." If in the first moment of conscious responsi- 
bility we were to choose the will of God, no con- 
demnation would ever be experienced. But this no 
one has ever done, "for all have sinned and come 
short of the glory of God." 

20. Moreover the law entered, that the offence might 
abound. But where sin abounded, grace did much more 
abound : 

The design of the law is here plainly set forth. 
Where there was no law there was no transgression. 
The law was given to multiply transgression. It was 
not intended as a means of salvation but as a means 
of condemnation. *' The law worketh wrath." How 
strange that men should cling to a law that was made 
only to condemn its subjects. Even the handwriting 
of ordinances was against us, and contrary to us, yet 
how men hold on to these ordinances as if they were 
friends to grace. "Ye that desire to be under the 
law," writes the apostle, "do ye not hear the law.?" 
The law entered to increase condemnation ; Christ 
came to save from condemnation. But it may be 
asked, "why increase the offence.?" I answer to 



A COMMENTARY 89 

convince men of their innate sinfulness that they might 
be forced to come to Christ for salvation. (See my 
sermon on Design of the Law, in Sermons on 
Familiar Subjects.) As to how grace did much i7iore 
abound^ see comments on verses 15 to 17. 

21. That as sin has resigned unto death, even so might 
grace reign through righteousness unto eternal life through 
Jesus Christ our Lord. 

Sin has reigned unto death, both physical and 
spiritual death. We are told that the law is the in- 
strument with which sin kills. It condemned men 
because of their unholiness, which made them obnox- 
ious to the holy law, and physical death was inflicted 
also. When our first parents sinned, speaking after 
the manner of men, two courses were open to Deity. 
Either the penalty could be inflicted upon the culprit 
alone, thus extinguishing the race, or they could be 
allowed to become the progenitors of a fallen race, 
obnoxious to the holy law, God providing a Redeemer 
through whom they could be unconditionally restored 
to what they had lost through no fault of their own. 
God chose the latter course. And now as sin has had 
its reign, God desires that grace may have its reign 
also. But grace cannot bring us to eternal life with- 
out the concurrence of our own wills. If we agree 
with God's purpose of mercy toward us, and become 
workers together with Him in the accomplishing of 



90 A COMMENTARY 

that purpose, then grace shall reign unto eternal life 
in our cases. If we "frustrate the grace of God" it 
will be otherwise. 

General Observations. 

Concerning the doctrine of justification there are 
two common errors, of which it may be well to 
speak. The first is the confounding justification with 
pardon of sin. They are often used synonymously, 
but they never mean the same thing. Pardon is the 
act of passing over offences; justification is God's 
decision as to man's relation to His law, as to inno- 
cence or guilt. To justify is to pronounce the 
adjudged person clear. If the two words, pardon and 
justification, mean the same thing, then one can 
always be substituted for the other. Jesus said to the 
Pharisees, "Ye are they that justify yourselves before 
men." They did not pardon themselves. God is said 
to be justified, " That thou mightest be justified in thy 
sayings." Also in I Tim. III-16, " God was manifest 
in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, etc." Here pardon 
is inadmissible. In the case of sinners pardon is neces- 
sary in order to justification, but is not justification. 

The second mistake is in supposing that justifica- 
tion is a lower state of grace preceding sanctifi- 
cation. Justification and sanctification cannot be 
compared thus with each other. Two things to be 



A COMMENTARY 9 I 

compared must be of the same kind; but justifica- 
tion is a legal work done for us, while sanctification 
is a moral work done in us. Hence one cannot be 
held as higher than the other. It is also held that 
justification precedes sanctification, which is a mistake. 
It is true that the Old Testament believers were 
justified while not really sanctified ; but holiness was 
imputed to them since provision was not yet made 
for their cleansing. Both inward and outward right- 
eousness were imputed to them, or they could not 
have been justified, since God's law demands a perfect 
heart as well as a perfect life. But now, under the 
gospel age, inward holiness is attainable, and is 
freely provided for believers ; consequently we cannot 
be justified without it. In his description of the 
results of justification in the preceding chapter, the 
apostle assumes that the justified man is sanctified 
also. He declares in the case of the man justi- 
fied by faith, that "the love of God is shed abroad 
in his heart by the Holy Ghost given him." Now it 
is acknowledged on all hands that men are sanctified 
when the Holy Ghost is given. This was true at 
Pentecost, and is always true. We conclude then 
that men must be sanctified or holy, either actually 
or by imputation, before they can be justified. Since 
Pentecost, men are actually made holy by the gift of 
the Holy Spirit. 



CHAPTER VI. 

1. What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that 
grace may abound ? 

Since grace has abounded far beyond the effects of 
the first sin, so that it covers our actual transgression, 
bringing glory to God, by affording his creatures 
new views of the beauties of his character, shall we 
not continue to sin that grace may the more 
abound? Such a question might seem foolish, because 
we might suppose no one would ever imagine it 
proper to suggest or maintain such a proposition, 
did we not know that it has actually been suggested 
and maintained, both in ancient and modern times. 
In fact it is generally held that believers do continue 
in sin, whether it is done to cause the grace of God 
to abound or for some other reason. The apostle's 
reply answers and refutes all such theories. 

2. God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live 
any longer therein? 

Not at all, or by no means, is the proper transla- 
tion of the apostle's answer. We shall not continue 
in sin that grace may abound, nor for any other 
(92) 



A COMMENTARY 93 

reason, because it is impossible. Many persons deem 
it impossible for believers to live without sin, but St. 
Paul sees it to be impossible for them to live in sin. 
How can we live in sin if we are dead to it? The 
contradiction is manifest and obvious. We can no 
more live in sin if we are dead to it, than we can 
live in this world when dead to it. Death separates 
and makes us free from everything that we are dead 
to. Prove that a Christian is dead to sin and the 
conclusion that he cannot live in it is inevitable. But 
is the Christian believer dead to sin.? Yes, for 

3. Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into 
Jesus Christ were baptized into his death? 

4. Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into 
death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by 
the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in new- 
ness of life. 

This passage is often misunderstood and misapplied. 
It is generally supposed that Christian baptism is here 
made the type of Christ's death, burial and resurrec- 
tion. And arguments are drawn from this in favor 
of immersion as the proper mode. But this is clearly 
a misconception as I will show. In the first place 
such an explanation violates the law governing type 
and antitype. The type being natural or carnal must 
represent something spiritual. But the exegesis in 
question makes one natural thing, viz., Christ's death, 
burial and resurrection, a figure of another natural 



94 A COMMENTARY 

thing, viz., water baptism. It is therefore inadmis- 
sible. Then it invalidates the apostle's argument. He 
has asserted that believers are dead to sin, and is 
proceeding to prove it. He does so by their baptism. 
But if he referred to water baptism his argument 
would utterly fail him. It is patent to every one that 
water baptism does not make men dead to sin. But 
it may be said, that baptized persons ought to be dead 
to sin, and so ought not to live in it; but the apostle 
is not trying to prove that believers ought not to live 
in sin, but that they cannot, and water baptism will 
not prove it. The apostle is not guilty of such lame 
logic as to try to make it prove his assumption. 
He must therefore refer to some other baptism. 
That he does so the force of the language used clearly 
shows. First, it is said that we arc buried ivith Him. 
Here is a continuous burial ; the thing buried con 
tinues to remain so. This is not true in water bap- 
tism. Secondly, we are said to be buried into death. 
This is not the case in water baptism ; it is burial 
into water. But it may be asked. Is not immersion 
a type of death? No, it is a type of burial. Thirdly, 
if our baptism is a type of Christ's burial and resur- 
rection, to be in accordance with nature, we must 
have some dead thing to be buried. It is improper 
to bury any living thing. In water baptism it is the 
living man that is buried, And fourthly, the body 



A COMMENTARY 95 

buried does not rise to a new life, but to the same 
physical life enjoyed previously. Water baptism, 
then, utterly fails to meet the case. Instead of our bap- 
tism being a type of Christ's death, burial and resur- 
rection, the latter is the type and our baptism is the 
antetype. It is therefore a spiritual baptism, or the 
baptism of the Spirit. This corresponds to the type 
and fits the language here used. It can be said of 
this baptism that by it we are buried into death. 
That which is buried remains buried, after having 
been crucified and killed. It is the old 7nan that is 
crucified, consequently it is the old 7nan that is buried. 
It is the new man that is raised up to walk in new- 
ness of life. 

5. For if we have been planted together in the likeness 
of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of Ins resurrec- 
tion : 

If we have been planted together in that which cor- 
responds to His deaths that is, the crucifixion of the 
old man and his burial into death, by the agency of 
the Holy Spirit ; we shall be also in that which cor- 
responds to His resurrection; a new life of God in 
the soul, and a holy walk in accordance therewith. 
There can be no mistake or failure here. If we have 
the one we must have the other. But we may have 
a carnal ordinance without any new life following. 
Hence a carnal ordinance cannot be meant. 



96 A COMMENTARY 

6. Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him^ that 
the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should 
not serve sin. 

It is the body of sin, the carnal mind, the flesh, 
oicr old man, that is crucified and consequently buried, 
to remain so forever, that it might be destroyed. If 
this is done when we are baptized into Christ, then 
there can be no more warfare with the flesh ; the in- 
ternal contention, the struggle against an evil heart 
is past, and peace reigns in the heart of the believer. 
But why is this body of sin destroyed? That hence- 
forth we should not serve sin. 

How plain, how reasonable is this. Yet how con- 
trary to most man-made theology. How do men 
serve sin? Jesus says, " Verily, verily I say unto you, 
whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin." To 
commit sin then, is to serve sin; so that it might 
read, "That henceforth we should not commit sin." 
Thus the apostle writes himself down a fanatic in 
the estimation of worldly-wise theologians of the 
present time. 

7. For he that is dead is freed from sin. 

The apostle then has proven his point ; that God's 
spiritual people are dead to sin, and consequently 
free from it, since death frees us from anything we 
are dead to. This freedom is from inward, as well 
as from outward sin. In fact, there can be no free- 



A COMMENTARY 97 

dom from the latter without freedom from the former, 
since inward unholiness is the cause producing out- 
ward transgression as its legitimate fruit. 

8. Now if we be dead with Christ, we believe that we 
shall also live with him : 

9. Knowing that Christ being raised from the dead dieth 
no more; death hath no more dominion over him. 

to. For in that he died, he died unto sin once; but in 
that he liveth, he liveth unto God. 

II. Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed 

unto sin, but aUve unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord. 

If we be dead with him, we shall also live with 
him. His death was a death unto sin, His life is a 
life unto God. If we be dead with Him, and we 
must be if baptized into His death, we are dead to 
sin, free from sin. Then we must have a new life 
also, a life hid with Christ in God, and we will live 
to God as Jesus does. Christ being risen from the 
dead dieth no more, so we are raised from a death 
in sin to a life of obedience, to die no more by 
sinning, as sin brings death; but are to live con- 
stantly to God. We are therefore to reckon ourselves 
to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God. The 
Greek word (logidzesthe) here translated "to reckon," 
signifies "to reckon, compute, number, infer, con- 
clude, consider, etc." Having computed, reckoned 
up the problem, we are to conclude that we are dead 
to sin; not figuratively or professedly dead, but dead 



98 A COMMENTARY 

indeed ; and just as truly alive unto God. We do 

not become dead because we reckon ourselves to be 

so, but we thus reckon because we find it to be 
actually the case. 

12. Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that 
ye should obey it in the lusts thereof. 

It is the generally accepted opinion that Christians 
are not able to live without committing sin. When 
it is shown that God's people are declared to be free 
from sin, it is often explained that this is true re- 
specting their souls or spirits, but that sin still remains 
in their bodies, and continues to plague them. That 
a warfare is continually waged between the flesh 
(the body) and the spirit. Even John Bunyan, the 
good old dreamer, was hampered by such a theology ; 
and in his Holy War in which he describes Immanuel's 
conquest of Mansoul, he represents Immanuel in His 
proclamation of terms to Diabolus, as declaring that 
Diabolus must evacuate the city of Mansoul ; that he 
should be allowed to own no property there, nor to 
visit it, nor to hold any correspondence with any 
person in it. But notwithstanding this high-sounding 
proclamation, Immanuel is represented as not being 
able to carry out His plans and promises, as the Dia- 
bolonians burrowed in the walls of the city and could 
not be dislodged ; so that they could from this vantage 
ground make continual incursions into the city, and 



A COMMENTARY 99 

keep up a constant turmoil, so that the city could 
have no peace nor rest. What a pity these Diabolo- 
nians could not have been smoked out of their hiding- 
places. The only hope for peace in Mansoul was in 
the destruction of its walls. So death must complete 
the work begun by Jesus Christ. He cannot save 
to the uttermost ; death must finish the task for Him. 
How dishonoring to God is this. And how unphilo- 
sophic. Death, the result of sin, must turn about and 
destroy its own cause. Such is the teaching of human 
theology, but not of the Holy Spirit in the scriptures. 
The sinfulness of the body is not only not taught in 
the scriptures, but the exact opposite is taught. We 
are told that our bodies are temples of the Holy 
Spirit, and that the temple of the Lord is holy, not 
sinful. This domination of the body over the soul 
is also unreasonable, and untrue to fact. The body is 
the servant of the soul, not its master. The apostle 
Paul asserts that he kept under his body and brought 
it into Subjection, not that it kept him under subjec- 
tion. It is not only in our souls then sin must not 
reign but also in our mortal bodies. We are not to 
obey any sinful lusts or desires. 



13. Neither yield je your members as instruments of 
unrighteousness unto sin : but yield yourselves unto God, as 
those that are alive from the dead, and your members as 
instruments of righteousness unto God. 



L.ofC. 



lOO A COMMENTARY 

It is here assumed that believers have control of 
their physical members, able to yield them as servants 
to whom they w^ill. They are forbidden to yield 
them as instruments to sin, and are commanded to 
yield them as instruments of righteousness to God. 
If they are able to obey these injunctions they need 
not commit sin. If they are not able to obey, then 
God is a hard Master, and his commandments are 
not only grievous but impracticable ; an unreasonable, 
rather than a reasonable service. You choose your 
own horn of the dilemma. 

14. For sin shall not have dominion over you : for ye are 
not under the law, but under grace. 

While believers were under the law, and before 
grace came, no provision having yet been made to 
take away sin, they were under the dominion of sin, 
and could not but be so. But since grace has come, 
and Christ has died to " make an end of sin " and to 
" bring in everlasting righteousness," there is no 
excuse for remaining under sin. Believers being made 
dead to sin in their baptism, and consequently being 
freed from its dominion, sin cannot have dominion 
over them. The apostle does not say, " sin ought 
not," but, sin shall not have domi?tion over you. 
How can it have dominion over the man who is dead 
to it, and freed from it? 



A COMMENTARY lOl 

15. What then? shall we sin, because we are not under the 
law, but under grace? God forbid. 

The law declared, The soul that sinneth it shall 
die. But grace offers forgiveness for sin. If we can 
have our sins pardoned may we not presume upon 
that grace and go on sinning of choice, if not by 
compulsion ? The law made sinning dangerous ; but 
does not grace make sinning safe ? Why should we 
then avoid sin ? It might be supposed that no one 
would be foolish enough to ask such a question. On 
the contrary, that the believer may continue to commit 
sin with impunity seems to be the deliberate, confirmed 
opinion of Christendom. The doctrine here so clearly 
taught by the apostle Paul, that believers are free 
from the dominion of sin, and that they may not 
commit sin, is almost universally denied and vehe- 
mently opposed and denounced. Its advocates are 
treated with contempt and derision. It is contended 
that through grace believers may go sinning on their 
way to heaven, though unbelievers are damned for the 
same conduct ; that Christ saves men not from sin, 
but from its consequences only, so that by grace sin 
is made innoxious and harmless ; that faith makes 
void the law and sets it aside, so that believers may 
treat it with silent contempt. It is easy to detect the 
variance between the teachings of mor'ern theologians 
and the teachings of St. Paul ; they are as wide 
apart as the antipodes. 



102 A COMMENTARY 

i6. Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants 
to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin 
unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness? 

It should be plain to all that no man can be the 

servant of God while committing sin, since whosoever 

committeth sin is its servant or slave. And as no 

man can serve two masters, while he serves sin he 

cannot be the servant of God. Notwithstanding we 

may be under grace, still sin (voluntary transgression) 

is unto death. The law is not abrogated, only 

suspended in the case of those who believe in Jesus, 

and so do not willingly transgress. The apostle does 

not know of a class, now supposed to be so common, 

which serves both masters, one in believing and the 

other in sinning. 

17. But God be thanked, that ye were the servants of sin, 
but ye have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which 
was delivered you. 

What the form of doctrine was which St. Paul 

delivered to both Jews and Greeks, we are told in 

Acts XX- 21, viz., ''Repentance toward God and 

faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ." This form of 

doctrine obeyed fi'om the heart will bring any soul to 

salvation. 

18. Being then made free from sin, ye became the servants 
of righteousness. 

They could not become servants of a new master 

until freed from obligations to the old one. This is 

self-evident. 



A COMMENTARY 103 

19. I speak after the manner of men because of the infirm- 
ity of your flesh : for as ye have yielded your members serv- 
ants to uncleanness and to iniquity unto iniquity; even so 
now yield your members servants to righteousness unto holi- 
ness. 

By speaking after the manner of men^ the apostle 
probably means that he uses natural relations to illus- 
trate spiritual ones. He represents righteousness and 
sin as two masters, to one or the other of which men 
are servants or slaves. This was easily understood 
and it made the spiritual truth he wished to convey- 
more easily grasped. The reason he gives for so 
doing is the infirmity of their fiesh. By this phrase 
he cannot refer to any physical weakness, and so 
must refer to their spiritual state. In that case he 
speaks of them as being carnal or unregenerate. But 
he has just proven that real saints have the '* flesh" 
or "old man" crucified, dead and buried. How can 
we reconcile this apparent contradiction .f* We find 
the same thing in most or all of St. Paul's epistles, 
and men's minds have been much confused thereby. 
This may be one of the things " hard to be under- 
stood " to which St. Peter refers when speaking of 
St. Paul's writings. But he declares that it is the 
unlearned and the unstable who wrest these things 
to their own destruction. Spiritual men can under- 
stand these apparent discrepancies and can reconcile 
them. To others these scriptures are a stone of 



T04 A COMMENTARY 

stumbling. As it is impossible that men can be 
free from sin and slaves to sin, carnal and spiritual 
both at the same time, we cannot understand that 
these opposite states can belong to the same persons 
at the same time. The explanation is this. In the 
various congregations addressed by the apostle, there 
were two classes. There were those who were really 
saved, born again, sanctified, new creatures in Christ 
Jesus. There were also those who had been con- 
vinced by the preaching of the gospel, who had come 
out from Judaism or paganism, and who consorted with 
the real saints, who as yet were not saved from their 
sins. Their repudiation of their old religion had made a 
great gulf between them and their former associates, 
and they were reckoned among the Christians, though 
not really such as yet. The apostle recognizes the 
two classes as he writes, but does not differentiate 
them, but when addressing either class he writes as 
if he meant the whole congregation. For instance 
he addresses the Corinthians as *' those who are sancti- 
fied in Christ Jesus, called saints." This would seem 
to include the whole congregation. Then he says 
shortly afterward, "I have not written unto you as 
unto spiritual but as unto carnal. For ye are yet 
carnal and walk as men." This again would appear 
to include the whole congregation. But the sanctified 
ones were not carnal, walking as other men. We 



A COMMENTARY 105 

must distinguish these two classes and recognize 
what belongs to each of them, or the apostle's writ- 
ings will be to us a jumble of contradictions. In 
writing his epistles he accommodates himself to the 
capacities of the most unspiritual in the congregations 
addressed. 

20. For when ye were the servants of sin, ye were free from 
righteousness. 

21. What fruit had ye then in those things whereof ye are 
now ashamed? for the end of those things is death. 

In other words, the apostle would say, "to show 
you that you are now, as believers, free from sin, I 
would remind you that when ye were the servants of sin 
ye were free from righteousness." When men are the 
slaves of sin they feel no compulsion toward right- 
eousness. They are free to serve the devil at their 
pleasure. If on the other hand they become the serv- 
ants of righteousness, the servants of God, they 
should be just as free to serve God, and feel as little 
compulsion to serve sin and Satan. The fruits of 
Satan's service they are ashamed of after conversion. 
They take no pleasure in recalling their wicked con- 
duct, nor do they feel like speaking of these things 
except in the way of humble confession. The re- 
membrance of these things is grievous to them, and 
they know that the end of these things is death. 
All their fruit while in the service of sin was only 



io6 A COMMENTARY 

evil continually. They never inadvertently fell into 
righteousness ; they suffered no lapse into holiness. 

22. But now being made free from sin, and become serv- 
ants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end 
everlasting life. 

Why not? If while w^e were the servants of the 
devil all our fruit was sin unto d^eath, why since be- 
coming the servants of God should not all our fruit 
be unto holiness? If when the servants of sin we are 
free from righteousness, why when we become the 
servants of righteousness should we not be free from 
sin? The apostle declares this to be the case; the 
theologians generally differ with him. It is not in 
harmony with their experience. Would it not be 
better to get an experience in harmony with the 
scriptures than to wrest the scriptures to make them 
fit our experience? God will be found true though 
it make every man a liar. 

23. For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is 
eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. 

Death is the wages of s'ni; it is what we earn or 
merit by a life of disobedience to God. But eternal 
life is not earned or merited ; it is the free gift of 
God. As we did not lose eternal life through the sin 
of the first Adam, we do not inherit it through the 
death of the second Adam. It is the result of grace 



A COMMENTARY I 07 

abounding. The Christian is to be rewarded accord- 
ing to his works, but eternal life is no part of that 
reward. It is freely given to the believer. 

General Observations. 

In the chapter just considered the doctrine of the 
believer's freedom from sin is clearly and conclusively 
set forth. This is not done inferentially but directly 
and declaratively, in language that could not well be 
more plain or less open to misconception. He shows 
the necessity for the destruction of inward sin, the 
sin of the heart, in order that outward sin may be 
avoided. He takes care to answer objections that may 
be urged against the doctrine, so that the apologist 
for sin has no ground left to stand upon. The eighth 
chapter teaches the same great truth ; but it is gen- 
erally supposed that the seventh contradicts both. 
This chapter is a stronghold for the advocates of sin 
in 'believers. But I hope to show that this is a sad 
error, and that the apostle is not so poor a theolo- 
gian and so lame a logician as to so stultify himself. 
I trust I have shown that the baptism referred to in 
the chapter just considered is our baptism by the Holy 
Ghost, which makes us dead to sin and alive to God. 
Water baptism is not referred to, and there is no in- 
timation that it was in the mind or thought of the 



lo8. A COMMENTARY 

apostle. Yet this scripture is relied on by many to prove 
a particular mode of water baptism. This illustrates 
the liberties taken with the scriptures, and the un- 
warranted use which is often made of passages of 
Holy Writ. They are made witnesses to prove points 
upon which they are totally silent. 



CHAPTER VII. 

1. Know ye not, brethren, (for I speak to them that know 
the law,) how that the law hath dominion over a man as long 
as he liveth? 

The apostle while addressing the whole church at 
Rome seems to have the Jewish members more par- 
ticularly in his mind, and his arguments are suited 
to their needs especially. To the Jews he refers in 
the remark, / speak to them that know the law. He 
is about to illustrate the relation of God's people to 
the law and to the gospel by the marriage state. He 
first states the fact in the form of a question, of men's 
subjection to law as long as they live. This is self- 
evident and needs no proof. 

2. For the woman which hath an husband is bound by the 
law to her husband so long as he liveth ; but if the husband 
be dead, she is loosed from the law of her husband. 

This is plain and clear though not much considered 

in these days of easy divorce. The wife is bound by 

the law of God to her husband, and is under the 

law of her husband. He is supposed to be her lord 

and to rule over her, as saith the scripture, "Thy 

(109) 



Tio A COMMENTARY 

desire shall be to thy husband and he shall rule over 
thee." 

3. So then if, while her husband liveth, she be married to 
another man, she shall be called an adulteress : but if her hus- 
band be dead, she is free from that law; so that she is no 
adulteress, though she be married to another man. 

4. Wherefore, my brethren, ye also are become dead to 
the law bj the body of Christ; that ye should be married to 
another, even to him who is raised from the dead, that we 
should bring forth fruit unto God. 

To carry out the simile it should read, The law Is 
dead to you. But the apostle uses the other expression 
as being less offensive to the Jewish believers, and 
either statement of the case means the same thing, 
since if I am dead to the law, the law is dead to me. 
It was a tender point with the Jewish believers to 
accept this teaching concerning the freedom of God's 
people from the law; and St. Paul the especial 
apostle to the Gentiles made himself especially 
offensive to the Jews by teaching this important 
truth. He therefore always states it to them as 
mildly as possible. God's people were formerly under 
the dominion of the law ; it was their spiritual hus- 
band ; and they could not become the bride of Christ 
while the former husband was alive. This statement 
of the case forced the Jewish converts to acknowl- 
edge that the law was dead to them, or that they 
were not the bride of Christ. There was no escaping 
the logic of the case. 



A COMMENTARY III 

5. For when we were in the flesh, the motions of sins, 
which were by the law, did work in our members to bring 
forth fruit unto death. 

This is a quite literal application of the figure. 
The motions of sins refers to the awakening in us of 
unholy tempers and propensities, which stirred in us, 
in our TJiembers^ when the demands of God's law 
were recognized. The law is thus represented as 
the father of these internal sins, these stirrings of 
rebellion which arise in us when the law is 
applied. The reference is, no doubt, to the quicken- 
ing of the offspring before birth. When this progeny 
of the law was brought forth or born it was unto 
death. The conduct developing from such motions of 
sins was sinful and so must be condemned. But 
when did these things occur? The answer is, When 
we were in the flesh. This does not mean, when we 
were in the body, for the apostle was not writing to 
disembodied spirits but to men still in the body. It 
must mean then, " When we were in our unregenerate 
state" ; for it was then we were under the law. 

6. But now we are delivered from the law, that being dead 
wherein we were held ; that we should serve in newness of 
spirit, and not in the oldness of the letter. 

In this place it is expressly declared that the law 

is dead, and so beHevers are delivered from it. They 

are now married to another that they may serve in 

newness of spirit. The old manner of service, called 



112 A COMMENTARY 

the oldness of the letter^ was not acceptable to God, 
nor is it now. In another place we are declared to 
be "delivered from dead works" or works of death, 
"to serve the living God." The old way of service 
regarded nothing but the outward act, the letter. In 
this way a man might live in all good conscience, 
like Saul of Tarsus, ignorant of the real demands of 
the law, and full of self-complacency, while the spirit 
of the law was constantly outraged in his life. It is 
only when the law is seen in the light of God's truth 
through the Spirit, that God's commandments become 
" exceedingly broad " ; then we recognize that it takes 
cognizance of all our affections, intentions, and mo- 
tives. We cannot serve in newness of spirit, unless 
our spirits are renewed, transformed by the renewing 
of our minds. The new manner of serving God de- 
livers us from slavery" to the letter, and makes our 
service free. 

7. What shall we say then? Is the law sin? God forbid. 
Nay, I had not known sin, but by the law: for I had not known 
lust, except the law had said, Thou shalt not covet. 

The effort is now begun to discover the cause of 
bad fruit resulting from the union of God's people 
and the law. What shall ive say then? Shall we 
lay the blame for the result upon the law, the hus- 
band? Is the law sin? It is evident that the fault 
is in either the husband or the wife. No, the law 



A COMMENTARY I 13 

is not sin; for so far from the law being in harmony 
with sin, sin is aroused to action by its opposition to 
the law ; and thus the law develops sin and causes 
it to manifest itself; as is declared in another place, 
For by the law is the knowledge of sin. It is only 
by means of the law that sin is known. By 
the law is the knowledge of sin. What sin? I answer 
all sin ; there can be no outward sin where there is 
no law, since " where there is no law there is no 
transgression"; and of inward sin also, as the illus- 
tration proves. / had not kiioivn lust., except the law 
had said., Thou shalt not covet. Lust or covetousness 
is an inward evil affection. The whole of the follow- 
ing argument proves that the design of the law is to 
discover and develop the sin of the heart. But if the 
law is needed to discover to us the sin of our hearts, 
carnality, original sin, as it is called, so long as we 
have any carnality we cannot dispense with the law ; 
we need its offices. But if we need the law it is not 
yet dead to us, or we are not yet dead to it. But if 
the law, the first husband is not yet dead, we are 
still under its dominion ; we are not yet loosed from 
the law of that husband. But if we are not, then 
we cannot yet be married to another husband, that 
we might bring forth fruit unto God. This is plain ; 
so long as we need to be convinced of any sin, in- 
ward or outward, any carnality or unholiness of heart. 



114 A COMMENTARY 

we still need the law as an instrument specially pro- 
vided to do this work. Hence we cannot be married 
to Christ the new husband until the work is finished, 
so that the law may become dead to us forevermore. 
No one who is married to Christ needs any convic- 
tion for sin, inward or outward ; for the law being 
dead to him he has no means to this end, unless there 
be some other way of knowing sin but by the law. 
This the apostle denies. 

8. But sin, taking occasion by the commandment, wrought 
in me all manner of concupiscence. For without the law sin 
^vas dead. 

Sin was dead; that is, the sin of the heart was 
quiescent, so that its very existence was not suspected. 
But when the commandment came the sinful nature 
was roused, and it filled the mind with all kinds of de- 
sires in opposition to the commandment. The Greek 
word here rendered "concupiscence" is from a verb 
meaning "to set the heart upon, to desire, to desire 
ardently, to lust after." The translation is properly, 
"all manner of desires," but Only of an evil nature. 

9. For I was alive without the law once : but when the 
commandment came, sin revived, and I died. 

This may be understood in two senses. All persons 
while not subjects of law because they are too young, 
or for any other reason, are alive without the law. 
They are free from condemnation. Then persons who 



A COMMENTARY II5 

are destitute of that knowledge of sin, inward sin, 
which an application of the law brings to them, and 
who do those things which seem to them to be in 
obedience to God's requirements, may be said to be 
alive ivithout the law. Saul of Tarsus was in this 
condition before his conviction for sin. Mr. Wesley 
describes this condition in his hymn, 



A goodly, formal saint 

I long appeared in sight, 
By self and Satan taught to paint 

My tomb, my nature, white. 
The pharisee within 

Still undisturbed remained ; 
The strong-man, armed with guilt of sin. 

Safe in his palace reigned." 



It is when the light which comes is resisted, that 
condemnation begins. "This is the condemnation, 
that light is come into the world, and men love dark- 
ness rather than light." The commandment comes 
when the demands of God's holy law are discovered 
to us and made plain to our understandings. Then 
our carnal hearts rebel, because they are not subject 
to this law ; and condemnation ensues and we die. 
We lose our self-complacency, our supposed goodness 
fades away, our own righteousness appears as filthy 
rags that fail to hide our spiritual nakedness. 



11 6 A COMMENTARY 

This experience is thus described by Mr. Wesley 

" But ah, the jealous God 

In my behalf came down ; 
Jesus Himself the stronger showed 

And claimed me for His own ; 
My spirit he alarmed 

And brought into distress; 
He shook and bound the strong-man armed 

In his self-righteousness. 



' Faded my virtuous shows 

My form without the power; 

The sin-convincing Spirit blew 
And blasted every flower." 



A proper application of God's law will inevitably 
destroy deception, and develop and revive sin in us. 
It is impossible for sin to disguise or hide itself when 
touched by the law. Sin may assume very innocent 
appearances, as did Satan at the ear of Eve, when, 
as represented by Milton, he took the form of a toad; 
but the law like Uriel's spear, touching it, it perforce 
immediately assumes its proper shape and character. 

lo. • And the commandment, which -was ordained to life, I 
found to be unto death. 

This does not mean that the law was given to 
sinners with the design of giving them life, for we 
are told just the contrary ; that the law entered that 
the offense might abound. But that the law of God 
is designed to give life to all perfect and pure intel- 



A COMMENTARY II7 

ligences, who maintain that moral state in which they 
were created. The fact that any moral agent finds 
this law so ordained, to be a means of death instead 
of life, argues something radically wrong in his case. 
What that wrong is, the apostle proceeds to point 
out. 

11. For sin, taking occasion by the commandment, deceived 
me, and by it slew jne. 

There are two ways in which sin may deceive and 
slay. It may prompt to resistance of God's law as 
unreasonable or unnecessary ; or it may encourage an 
attempt to maintain justification by obeying the law 
in our own strength, which will inevitably result in 
failure. In either case we incur condemnation, and 
so die. 

12. Wherefore the law is holy, and the commandment 
holy, and just, and good. 

The responsibility for the evil results of this union 
of God's people and the law, is not found in the law, 
the husband ; the law is holy and cannot be blamed 
for such bad fruit. The cause must be, therefore, in 
the wife. The next point to be settled is, where, 
in us, is the evil to be found .^ 

13. Was then that which is good made death unto me? 
God forbid. But sin, that it might appear sin, working death 
in me by that which is good ; that sin by the commandment 
might become exceeding sinful. 



Il8 A COMMENTARY 

Was the law, then, which is good, the cause of 
my death? No, not at all. It was only the occasion 
or instrument of my condemnation. Sin, that unholy 
rebellious principle, dwelling in my nature, was the 
cause. And the natural inference is, that if sin can 
use so good an instrument as God's holy law to slay 
me with, it must be a very virulent, wicked princi- 
ple. Our evil natures do not seem very bad, and indeed 
in many respects do not seem bad at all, until tested 
by God's holy law. It is then that sin appears sin^ 
and its true nature is recognized. 

14. For we know that the law is spiritual : but I am carnal, 
sold under sin. 

St. Paul, in this argument, speaks of himself as 
an example of one of God's people under the law. The 
law, the husband, is spiritual; I, representing the 
wife, atn carnal, sold under sin. The union then is 
an unequal one, and not productive of good fruit. 
To be spiritual is to be holy and good ; to be carnal 
is to be unholy, fleshly, wicked. Yea, I am sold under 
sin. I am in a state of bondage to sin which has 
dominion over me. My slavery is involuntary, as I 
am sold into it, and cannot help myself. 

15. For that which I do I allow not: for what I would, 
that do I not; but what I hate, that do I. 

This shows a condition of complete helplessness 
and bondage. If I cannot do the things I choose to 



A COMMENTARY I 19 

do, and cannot avoid doing the things I hate, my 
case is indeed deplorable, and desperate. It could 
not well be worse. To ascribe such an experience to 
a Christian believer, as is often done, is to libel 
Christianity, as a fraud and a failure. Christians are 
said to be called to liberty, and Jesus is represented 
as coming to set captives free and to break yokes 
of bondage. If the condition here described is 
Christian liberty, what worse could bondage be? 
We must remember that the believer's state under the 
law as husband is being described. 

16. If then I do that which I would not, I consent unto 
the law that it is good. 

The fact that I am unwilling to transgress the 

law is proof that I acknowledge its righteousness. 

17. Now then it is no more I that do it, but sin that 
dwelleth in me. 

That is to say that transgression is not a voluntary 

act on my part, but I am forced to it by indwelling 

sin ; I am not able to resist the power of an evil 

heart which defies God's law. 

18. For I know that in me (that is, in mj flesh,) dwelleth 
no good thing: for to will is present with me; but Iww to 
perform that which is good I find not. 

It seems that the apostle fearing that some one 
might misunderstand him and imagine that he might 
be speaking of his Christian experience, notwith- 
standing the plain drift of the argument, has thrown 



120 A COMMENTARY 

in an explanatory clause in parenthesis; viz., ''That 
is, in my flesh," but all in vain; so anxious are some 
men to excuse, and plead for, sin that they will insist 
that St. Paul is giving his Christian experience. By 
his "flesh" he cannot mean his body, as is some- 
times taught, because he tells us in another epistle 
that the Christian's body is a temple of the Holy 
Spirit, which is said to dwell in us. (Cor, III-16& 
VI- 19.) It is not therefore true of the body that 
in it dwelleth no good thing. The word must 
therefore have a spiritual meaning as it generally 
has in the New Testament, and means the unregener- 
ate state. The apostle means to assert that in him, 
in his unregenerate state, there dwelt no good thing. 
And if this was true of the apostle Paul it is true 
of every man by nature, as we are all alike. This is 
as strong a statement of the doctrine of natural de- 
pravity as can be made. If there is in us by nature 
nothing good, then arc we totally depraved; that is, 
totally deprived of good. Whatever good there may 
be in an unregenerate person, is the result of grace, 
through the agency of the Holy Spirit, but it does 
not dwell in us. Our natural hearts are not the abodes 
of good, but it is only a transient visitor there. 
But there is one thing the man possesses to whom the 
commandment has come. He has the power to will. 
7\) will is present with him. Much has been said 



A COMMENTARY 121 

and written on the freedom of the human will. That 
the will is naturally free in respect to natural things 
I have no doubt. But it is not naturally free in re- 
spect to spiritual things. Without the help of the 
Holy Spirit we have no power to desire good, and 
consequently no power to will in the direction of that 
which is good. The Lord must work in us both to 
will, and to do. His good pleasure. But this He does 
for us unconditionally, through His truth. Our free- 
dom of will is proportionate to our light. We are 
able to will all the good we see. 

But in our unregenerate state we have no 
power of performance of that which is good. True, 
we can perform the outward act which has the ap- 
pearance of obedience, and which deceives many ; but 
real obedience is of the heart. John Wesley writes : 

*' I see Thy perfect law requires 
Truth in the inward parts; 
Our full consent, our whole desires, 
Our undivided hearts." 

This is impossible to the man whose moral nature 
is in revolt against God's law. 

19. For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which 
I would not, that I do. 

In many cases this is true in the outward act. The 

sinner is carried away by the power of his evil passions 

and propensities against which his will is pitted in 



122 A COMMENTARY 

vain. But even if the outward act of disobedience 
is restrained, still he disobeys. Since he that hateth 
his brother is a murderer, he is a murderer while the 
hated person still lives, and his hands are unstained 
with blood. 

20. Now if I do that I would not, it is no more I that do 
it, but sin that dwelleth in me. 

It is my sinful nature that is responsible for my sin. 
It is because of the impossibility of real obedience 
under the law that it is said, "The times of this 
ignorance God winked at, but now commandeth all 
men everywhere to repent." He will wink at such 
a state no longer after the gospel is come to make 
men free. 

21. I find then a law, that, when I would do j^ood, evil is 
present with me. 

The Greek word " nomos " has "law" for its 
primary meaning, but it also means "custom, habit, 
etc." The meaning here seems to be this: I find 
a law^ that is, I find that it invariably occurs, as a 
habit or custom, that when I would do good, evil is 
present with me. This is not exceptional or occa- 
sional, but it is constantly the case. 

22. For I delight in the law of God after the inward man: 
The apostle still speaks in the person of the believer 

under the law, which is that of the awakened sinner 



A COMMENTARY 123 

under the gospel. For the awakened sinner is in the 
same spiritual state as the believer under the former 
dispensation, still carnal and unregenerate, but more 
sensible of this state of helpless bondage, since he 
has more light. The application has been gradually 
transferred from the former to the latter, making it 
descriptive of present conditions. If we now have 
the faith Old Covenant believers had, we will not re- 
main under the law, but will at once be married to 
the new husband. But until faith reaches the point 
where it appropriates Christ's merits and finds free- 
dom from sin, we are still under the law of perfect 
obedience as well as under the dominion of sin. In 
this state, after the commandment comes, and we are 
aroused to a sense of sin and get a glimpse of the 
beauty of holiness, we begin to hate the one and to de- 
sire the other. We see both, because the Holy Spirit con- 
vinces us of sin and righteousness according to Christ's 
promise. Then as we yield to the influences of the 
Holy Spirit, we experience a growing delight in the 
law of God after the inward man. We see the in- 
adequacy of mere outward service, and desire to obey 
with all our heart and soul. The other form of serv- 
ice in which we may have formerly trusted we see 
to be but dead works, or works of death, and we 
wish to serve the living God. 

23. But I see another law in my members, warring against 



124 A COMMENTARY 

the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the 
law of sin which is in my members. 

As has been said before, the attempt is here made 
to locate the cause of evil fruit while we are under 
the dominion of the law, the old husband. It has 
been shown that the law itself is not responsible, 
being holy, just, and good. The fault is therefore in 
us. But not in our knowledge or the want of it, for 
we see what is right ; not in our desire, for w^e de- 
light in the law of God ; not in our wills, for we 
will to do good but find no ability to carry out our 
good resolutions. The cause of our failure to glorify 
God is found to be in our inmost nature; in a sinful 
principle called sin dwelling- in us. It is also called 
"the flesh," "the old man," "the body of sin," 
"the carnal mind," "the law of sin and death." 
This evil heart controls us in spite of our efforts and 
struggles, and holds us in captivity, so that we can- 
not do the things that we would. We would love 
God but we cannot. We would love our neighbors 
as ourselves, but we cannot do this either ; and as 
these two things contain the sum of all obedience we 
fail utterly. 

24. O wretched man that I am ! who shall deliver me from 
the body of this death? 

When we have become conscious of our slavery to 

inbred sin, we conceive an abhorrence of it and long 



A COMMENTARY 125 

for deliverance from its control. We find ourselves 
helpless and strengthless, utterly unable to free our- 
selves however much we may tug at our chains. We 
look in vain for help from others; they are as pow^er- 
less as ourselves. Religious ceremonies, outward or- 
dinances, give us no relief. 

** Not bleeding bird nor bleeding beast, 
Nor hyssop branch nor sprinkling priest, 
Nor running brook, nor flood, nor sea. 
Can wash the dismal stain away," 

We are like a prisoner chained to a companion who 
is already dead, and compelled to drag the repulsive 
corpse about with us. 

25. I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then 
with the mind I myself serve the law of God ; but with the 
flesh the law of sin. 

Deliverance is to be found through Jesus Christ and 
through Him alone. When we were without strength 
he in due time died for the ungodly. That he can 
and will deliver his people from this bondage to in- 
dwelling sin is a glorious fact, too seldom realized or 
understood. Yet it is a fact, most clearly stated, not 
only in this place, but in many other scriptures. The 
latter part of this verse is a resume, or second state- 
ment, of the points already brought out in the argu- 
ment. The apostle himself, or any other awakened 
man, with his mirid^ his desires and purposes, serves 



126 A COMMENTARY 

the law of God ; but with his carnal nature serves the 
law of sin ; and his carnal nature prevails so that the 
efforts of his will are nullified and made abortive. 
To suppose that the apostle is here speaking of his 
Christian experience, is to assume that he is drawing 
conclusions concerning Christian experience from 
premises which speak only of experiences under the 
law. This would be utterly illogical. Then it would 
be a contradiction- of his statement that those who 
are in Christ have the "old man" crucified, destroyed 
and buried. Also of the statement that sin shall not 
have dominion over Christians. Those who thus teach 
may do so through ignorance, but it certainly has the 
appearance of wilful ignorance. 



General Observations. 

It is sometimes imagined that the last verse of 
this chapter describes the Christian conflict or warfare, a 
warfare between the moral nature and the will, or the 
flesh and the spirit. This is an evident mistake ; as the 
Christian is described as being free from the flesh. 
"Our old man is crucified with Him that the body 
of sin might be destroyed." We can have no con- 
flict with an enemy nailed to a cross and killed. 
"They that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with 



A COMMENTARY I 27 

its affections and lusts." We are instructed to put 
off the old man with his deeds before we put on the 
new man. If we had to war against our natures we 
would never be victors, but always would be van- 
quished. Nor does the Christian war against his body, 
as some suppose. He keeps it under subjection ; but 
"we wrestle not against flesh and blood," either our 
own or that of others, but "against principalities and 
powers." The Christian warfare is outward; "with- 
out were fightings," says the apostle. Within he has 
peace. " In me ye shall have peace," Christ declares. 
" Great peace have they that love thy law." It is 
plain the Christian has no outward peace ; he is in 
an enemy's land, surrounded by implacable foes. If 
there be a continual conflict going on within him 
where is his peace? How then can it be said of him, 
Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace whose heart is 
stayed on Thee? Reader, if this state of inward con- 
flict is your experience, it proves you to be yet under 
the law where you cannot do the things that you 
would. 



CHAPTER VIII. 

1. There is therefore now no condemnation to them which 
are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the 
Spirit. 

This conclusion is drawn from the arguments found 
in the Vlth chapter rather than from the Vllth, as 
the Vllth does not treat at all of Christian experience. 
If it did, a very different conclusion would be drawn 
from it. The Vllth chapter is an interruption of the 
argument of the Vlth in order to make an explana- 
tion. In the Vlllth, the argument is resumed. If 
there is no co7ide??jnation to thefn which are in Christ 
yesus^ it must be from one of two causes. Either 
they do not commit sin, or their sins are not imputed 
to them. Sin is a transgression of the law under 
which we live. If the Christian were left under the 
old law, any violation of the letter of which brought 
guilt, he would not be free from condemnation. But 
he is under grace. Is he tlien without law? No; he 
is under the law of Christ, the new commandment, 
the law of love. To him, love is the fulfilling of the 

law. To violate that law would be to bring upon 
(128) 



A COMMENTARY I 29 

himself condemnation. He has no condemnation be- 
cause he fulfils that law. If this were not so, and if 
his freedom from condemnation were the result of the 
nonimputation of the sins he commits, then he would 
have no sense of guilt, and would need to ask no 
forgiveness. The fact that professed Christians feel a 
sense of guilt and condemnation for their wTong do- 
ing is proof positive that their sins are imputed to 
them; for if their hearts condemn them, "God is 
greater than their hearts" and condemns them also. 
The last clause of this verse is supposed by Dr. 
Adam Clarke to be an interpolation caused by the 
mistake of the transcriber of the manuscript. It is 
wanting in many of the principal manuscripts and 
versions, and is not needed to complete the sense. 
It is properly found at the end of the fourth verse 
but should probably be left out here. 

2. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath 
made me free from the law of sin and death. 

There is here a change in the law, or dominating 
power in the believer. The law of sin is displaced 
by the law of the Spirit of life. The latter makes 
us free from the former. The two are not found hold- 
ing disputed and joint possession of the believer, lust- 
ing against each other. The law of sin and death, 
the old man, is destroyed, and the other law has un- 
disputed dominion. For this reason there is no con- 
9 



130 A COMMENTARY 

demnation to them that are in Christ Jesus. The old 
man is put off and his deeds are put off with him , 
those deeds which brought condemnation. 

3. For what the law could not do, in that it was weak 
through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness 
of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh : 

What the law could not do God has done by send- 
ing His Son for a sin-offering. What the law could 
not do was to produce the fruits of obedience. It 
could not do this because of our unholy nature which 
the law had no power to correct or remove. It was 
therefore iveak thi'ough the flesh. The most pregnant 
statement in this verse is that God has condemned 
sin in the Jlesh. Under the law it was the fruits that 
were condemned, and consequently the one producing 
the fruits. He brought forth fruit unto death. But 
under the gospel it is the sin in the flesh that is con- 
demned to be destroyed ; that which caused the bad 
fruit under the law. The law could not remove or 
destroy this, but Jesus can and does. This is a 
vital point in Christianity ; that Jesus destroys the 
hindrance to obedience, which made obedience im- 
possible; that he came "to make an end of sin" and 
*' to bring in everlasting righteousness." To make 
an end of what sin? Sin dwelling in us. That be- 
ing destroyed, the fountain being dried up, the 
streams will cease to flow. How strange that this 



A COMMENTARY I 31 

truth should be so generally forgotten or ignored. 
Yet if Jesus does not do this for us He does no more 
to save us from sin than the law did. What advan- 
tage then in the change of husbands? 

4. That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in 
us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. 

Sin in the flesh is condemned that the righteous- 
ness of the law anight be fulfilled ijz us. This never 
can be done until the old carnal nature is destroyed. 
When we are brought into Christ our hearts, or 
moral natures, are made holy and perfect. God's law 
demands a perfect heart, and this demand is met 
under the gospel. But the Greek preposition here 
used (en) also signifies the means or instrument by 
which anything is done, and is rendered " with," " by 
means of," or "by." So we may read "by us" 
as well as "in us." The righteousness of the law is 
fulfilled by us. Not the letter of the law, for this 
we cannot in our present imperfect state fulfil. 
The righteousness of the law is love, as our Lord 
Himself testifies ; on the love of God and the love of 
our neighbor, hang all the law and the prophets. 
The man who is in Christ Jesus can, and does, love 
God with all his heart and his neighbor as himself. 
Such walk not after the fiesh, hut after the Spirit. 

5. For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of 
the flesh ; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the 
Spirit. 



132 A COMMENTARY 

To be after the Jlesh is to be fleshly or carnal ; to 
be after the Spirit is to be spiritual. Every man 
follows the bent of his nature. If he be carnal, he 
minds carnal things; if he be spiritual, he minds the 
things of the spirit. His conduct and the things in 
which he is specially interested testify to his spiritual 
state. 

6. For to be carnally minded is death ; but to be spiritu- 
ally minded is life and peace. 

To be carnally minded is to be separated from God, 
the source of spiritual life. There can be no unity 
between God and a carnal, unholy, heart. There can 
be no spiritual life without unity with God. The 
spiritual man is in fellowship and unity with God 
and hence enjoys spiritual life and peace. 

7. Because the carnal mind is enmity against God; for it 
is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. 

Here we have a definition of the carnal mind ; it 
is enmity against God. This is its nature or essence. 
Take away the enmity and you destroy the carnal 
mind. "The fool hath said in his heart, no God." 
That is where the idea in his head comes from. " The 
wish is father to the thought." As to hate one's 
brother is to be his murderer, so to hate God is to 
be His murderer. What an awful indictment of un- 
renewed human nature is this ! Every human being 
has in him by nature a principle that would blot God 



• A COMMENTARY I33 

out of His universe if it had the power. You do not 
believe it? Better then cease pretending to believe 
God's Revelation. Of course such a principle is not 
subject to the law of God; it unceasingly revolts and 
rebels against that law. In the nature of things it 
cannot be subject. Neither can the man be subject 
who is dominated by such a principle. 

8. So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God. 
This conclusion necessarily follows. If the carnal 

mind is not, and cannot be, subject to God's law, 
they that are carnal cannot please God. Since the 
flesh has been doomed to destruction and provisions 
are made for freeing God's people from it, there is 
no excuse for retaining it or for being controlled by 
it. For if it is retained it will control and enslave 
us, as the apostle shows in the preceding chapter. 
Some persons imagine that they do serve and please 
God while they still possess the carnal mind, but this 
contradicts both reason and revelation. We must put 
off the old man before we can put on the new man ; 
and old things must pass away before all things can 
become new. All who are in Christ are thus new 
creatures. No man is a child of God who retains the 
carnal mind. 

9. But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be 
that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have 
not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his. 



134 A COMMENTARY * 

But yc are not in the fleshy that is ye are not car- 
nal, still in possession of the carnal mind, if the spirit 
of God dwell in you. Some profess to understand 
by the word "flesh" here used, the mortal body is 
meant; that it is the great hindrance to obedience. 
But these Roman Christians are declared to be not in 
the flesh, and the apostle was not writing to disem- 
bodied spirits. There are few absurdities to which 
men will not stoop to defend or excuse sin. The proof 
that they were not in the flesh is the indwelling of 
the Holy Spirit. It follows that the Holy Spirit does 
not dwell in those who are carnal, or in the flesh. 
So those who are carnal do not belong to Christ, for 
unless his Spirit dwells in them they are none of His. 
In I Cor., Ill, 1-5, the persons addressed are declared 
to be yet carnal. It is often supposed that these per- 
sons who are yet carnal are yet Christians. But this 
cannot be true ; for if they are carnal they have not 
His Spirit, as the possession of the Holy Spirit is 
said to prove its possessors to be spiritual. And if 
they have not His Spirit they are none of His. They 
cannot be Christians who do not belong to God. 

10. And if Christ he in you, the body is dead because of 
sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness. 

Our bodies are not yet redeemed, no not of the 
holiest persons. The penalty of the first sin is still 
exacted, and the salvation or redemption of our bodies 



A COMMENTARY 1 35 

is still a subject of hope. I have heard of some en- 
thusiasts who declare they shall never die ; that their 
bodies are already immortal. It is useless to contend 
v^ith such persons, but it is safe to leave them to the 
logic of events. It is not uncommon to hear a cer- 
tain class of professed Christians declare that they are 
saved, soul and body. Just what they mean by this 
expression I do not know, nor do I think they know 
either. But our souls or spirits are made alive by the 
indwelling Spirit, because of righteousness. As our 
bodies are dead or condemned to death, and so dead 
in a legal sense, yet our spirits are made alive by the 
Spirit of God dwelling in us, because of Christ's 
righteousness; His sacrificial atonement. 

11. But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the 
dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall 
also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in 
you. 

This, no doubt, refers to the resurrection of the body, 
which is promised us, and is not to be understood as 
a contradiction of the preceding verse. Our outward 
man perisheth, though the inward man be renewed 
day by day. To quicken signifies to bring to life. 
And as our bodies are dead only in law, not yet actu- 
ally, they cannot be now quickened until they die 
f^rst. 

12. Therefore, brethren, we are debtors, not to the flesh, 
to live after the flesh. 



136 A COMMENTARY 

We are no longer under any obligation nor neces- 
sity to live after the flesh, since the flesh is crucified 
and destroyed. We are under no compulsion to com- 
mit sin, as so many suppose, but are free to live after 
the Spirit ; to live in obedience to the law of Christ, 
a liberty so persistently denied and so seldom realized. 

13. For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die : but if ye 
through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall 
live. 

There is no exception to this rule. No religious 
profession, nor ecclesiastical relation, will nullify it. 
To live after the flesh, to live in sin, is to die. And 
they that are after the flesh, carnal, do mind the 
things of the flesh. So to be carnally minded is 
death. There are therefore no carnal Christians. A 
carnal Christian would be a« great an anomaly as a 
holy devil. The body mentioned whose deeds must 
be mortified, is the " body of sin," the flesh, not the 
physical man. The literal body has no deeds. All 
sin proceeds from within, out of the heart, so Jesus 
declares. That is a strange doctrine that would make 
of the body a scapegoat for the sins of an unholy 
heart ; that teaches us to despise the body, to con- 
temn it as a clog to the soul, a shackle to be cast off 
with joy; the jailer of the soul, which can find lib- 
erty only in escaping from this prison. Such teach- 
ing is nonsense, without any warrant in reason or 



A COMMENTARY 137 

scripture. The body is an integral part of the man, 
without which he is not a man but a disembodied 
spirit. True it is now under the curse, and subject 
to natural evil, sickness, pain and death; but that is 
not its fault. Redemption has been provided for it 
as well as for the spirit, and it is honored in being 
made the temple of the Holy Ghost. We do not 
honor God by neglecting, despising, nor dishonoring 
our bodies. 

To mortify the deeds of the body or flesh is to de- 
stroy the old man and so put him off with his deeds. 
He who does this shall live; live to God here and 
with God hereafter. 

14. For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are 
the sons of God. 

The doctrine of the leadings of the Holy Spirit is 
one that is generally neglected and ignored, but is, 
on the other hand, sometimes caricatured and abused 
by fanatical zeal. Without the personal teachings 
and guidance of the Holy Spirit we can never learn 
God's truth. Without it our religion will be dead 
formalism ; there is no article of the creed that Satan 
more abhors than, " I believe in the Holy Ghost." 
In all ages of Christianity when there has been a 
reformation, or a revival of vital godliness, Satan has 
endeavored to make this doctrine ridiculous or detest- 
able by influencing weak heads, with more zeal than 



138 A COMMENTARY 

knowledge, to indulge in fanatical excesses profess- 
edly under the guidance of the Holy Spirit. This 
frightens prudent souls and makes them choose rather 
the quiet of spiritual death. But the truth of God 
remains the same, that His children are led by His 
Spirit. When the Holy Ghost was promised it was 
said, "He shall guide you into all truth." He is 
our pillar of cloud by day, and of fire by night. 
Only such as are led by Him are His sons and 
daughters. 

15. For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again 
to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby 
we cry, Abba, Father. 

The spirit of bondage to fear was the spirit of the 
former dispensation. At the giving of the law at 
Sinai, the Israelites were terrified by the manifesta- 
tions of the Divine presence; and we are told that they 
of the old covenant were all their lifetime subject to 
bondage through fear of death. This slavish fear of 
God and this bondage to fear of any kind is removed 
under the gospel, and is replaced by a filial confi- 
dence in God, as our Father. The Holy Spirit is 
called the Spirit of adoptioji because by it we are 
made the children of God. We are said to be born 
of the spirit, since by its agency our moral nature 
is changed into the image of God. Since by nature 
we are not God's children, but are made so by the 



A COMMENTARY 139 

Holy Spirit, we are said to be adopted. By the 
testimony of the Spirit we recognize God to be our 
Father, and we can never know that we are God's 
children without this testimony. The popular doc- 
trine of the Fatherhood of God and the brotherhood 
of men, is a virtual denial of redemption by Christ, 
and of our adoption into the heavenly family, by 
which we become brethren. It is thinly veiled in- 
fidelity. 

16, The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that 
we are the children of God : 

The fact of the witness of the Spirit could not be 
more clearly stated. Those who deny the direct wit- 
ness of the Spirit endeavor to avoid the force of this 
passage by claiming that the Spirit witnesses through 
the written word. But this could not be a personal 
witness, nor will it accord with the statement that 
we have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we 
cry, Abba, Father. Besides, the New Testament, 
which contains the conditions of salvation, was not 
extant when this epistle was written. But the lan- 
guage of the text forbids such an explanation. The 
Spirit does not testify mediately through a third per- 
son, but the Spirit itself does the witnessing. This 
is express and undeniable. It also agrees with the 
experience of spiritual men. If I have not this in 
dubitable witness of sonship, I am not a son. 



140 A COMMENTARY 

17. And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint- 
heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with ////«, that we 
may be also glorified together. 

This naturally follows, that we as the children 
of God are His heij's. And as we are the brethren 
of Christ we are joint hei?'s with Him to all that 
the Father possesses. He, as the elder brother, 
inherits the greater share. Our suffering ivith Him 
is the necessary proof of our sonship, since he that 
is without chastisement is declared to be a bastard 
and not a son. We are told that though He were 
a son, yet learned He obedience by the things which 
He suffered ; so must we do. Unless we are under 
discipline, we are regarded as being outside of the 
family ; for what good father does not discipline his 
children.? Rebuke and chastisement, then, are the 
marks of sonship. Our wills must be crucified that 
we may learn obedience to the will of God. This 
course of discipline includes persecutions, temptations, 
tribulations, afflictions, and disappointments. These 
we must endure, not stoically, but in humble, cheerful 
submission to the Divine will. So shall we he glori- 
Jied together with Christ, when He cometh in His 
kingdom. What this means transcends our present 
conceptions. 

18. For I reckon that the sufferings of tliis present time are 
not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be 
revealed in us. 



A COMMENTARY 141 

Present sufferings often seem to us, while under- 
going them, as very severe, almost insupportable ; but 
in the apostle's estimation they, with all their severity, 
are not worthy to be compared with the future glory 
of God's people. Compared with the exceeding great 
reward, they are insignificant, not worth mentioning, 
momentary and trivial. How comforting and inspir- 
ing is this to the suffering saint ! 

"Our conflicts here will soon be past, 
And you and I ascend at last, 
Triumphant with our Head." 

It is not death that brings this revelation, but the 

appearing of the Great God, even our Savior Jesus 

Christ. We may as correctly translate revealed "to 

us" as "in us"; the preposition " eis " meaning 

primarily a motion. " toward or into." "To us" is 

the better rendering here. 

19. For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for 
the manifestation of the sons of God. 

This verse, and the two succeeding ones, are con- 
sidered obscure by commentators. The obscurity is 
owing to the doubtful meaning and application of 
the Greek word (ktisis) here rendered by the English 
word "creature." The surmises as to the meaning 
of this word have been various. Some apply it to the 
Gentile world, others to the lower animals. These are 
only a few of the guesses on the subject. The trans- 



142 A COMMENTARY 

lation is quite literal and proper. The only light shed 
upon the subject is in the context. From this I 
gather that the reference is to the human body, and 
particularly to the bodies of the saints. This explana- 
tion supposes the apostle to use a figure of speech 
called personification. Human bodies are represented 
as waiting in earnest expectation for something ; that 
is, acting as intelligent beings. What our bodies are 
thus expecting is the manifestatio7i of the sons of God, 
So it is really the bodies of believers only which are 
thus waiting expectantly, as they only will share in 
this manifestation. This manifestation of God's sons 
will take place at the resurrection of the just. As 
Christ was declared to be the Son of God with power 
by His rising from among the dead, so the sonship 
of God's people will be manifested in the same 
manner when they have part in the first resurrection, 
which is also a resurrection from among the dead. 

20. For the creature was made subject to vanity, not will- 
ingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in 
hope, 

The vanity here spoken of to which the creature, 
the body, %vas made subject, is natural evil, sickness, 
pain, and death. But this subjection to vanity was 
not voluntary on its part ; it was in no wise respon- 
sible for this curse. Nor are Adam's descendants re- 
sponsible for these things, as they are the result of 



A COMMENTARY 143 

Adam's sin, and not of the voluntary transgressions 
of his posterity. Hence it is said they were made 
subject to vanity, not willingly ; but as this suffering 
for the sin of another would not be just if there were 
no recompense, it is said that they are subjected in 
hope; that is, there is the promise of a restoration to 
life again, and the hope is that of the resurrection. 
The last clause is a paraphrase, and not a literal 
rendering. We might read it thus: but by reason of 
the one having subjected // in hope. The God of 
infinite justice placed our bodies under the curse of 
physical death because He had provided for them a 
hope. 

21. Because the creature itself also shall be delivered from 
the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the 
children of God. 

This then is the hope of the creature, deliverance 
from the bondage of cori'uption. The soul is here de- 
livered from the bondage of sin but the body remains 
under the bondage of corruption until the resurrection 
of the just. This can apply only to the bodies of be- 
lievers and those who are saved unconditionally, as 
infants and idiots. But it will embrace the larger 
part of the human race. It is not to be supposed that 
those whose souls have found no emancipation from 
the bondage of sin shall have bodies saved from the 
bondage of corruption. They shall have a resurrec- 



144 A COMMENTARY 

tion, 'tis true, but to shame and contempt, instead of 
to liberty and glory. The glorious liberty of the 
children of God already exists, and into this liberty 
the body will immerge at its rising. 

22. For we know that the whole creation groaneth and 
travaileth in pain together until now. 

The bodies of all men, saints and sinners, are under 
the curse of natural evil, and suffer with pain and 
anguish. This is, to a certain extent, true also of the 
lower animals, but there is no proof that their suffer- 
ings are in any degree the result of the curse, or that 
they have any hope of deliverance. The same Greek 
word (ktisis) is here translated "creation" that was 
rendered "creature" in the preceding verses. But it 
is qualified by an adjective extending its meaning. 
This would show that the bodies of saints were alone 
referred to in the former case. 

23. And not only ///ry, but ourselves also, which have the 
first fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within our- 
selves, waiting for the adoption, to ~vif, the redemption of our 
body. 

This verse has tended to confuse the minds of ex- 
positors. If we ourselves, having the frst fruits of the 
Spirit, are not included in the "creature," it is gen- 
erally supposed that we must look outside of the 
company of believers to find the creature that is to 
be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the 



A COMMENTARY 145 

liberty of the children of God. What this " creature " 
is, that is outside of God's covenanted mercies, that 
is to partake of this glorious liberty has been hard 
to fix upon. But I consider that the whole difficulty 
is obviated and the enigma solved, by explaining that 
the "creature" in verses 19, 20 and 21 refers par- 
ticularly to the bodies of saints; in verse 22, the 
" whole creation " refers to the bodies of all men, 
saints and sinners ; that up to the present still suffer 
from natural evil ; and that the 23rd verse, the one 
under consideration now, refers to the spiritual man, 
the soul, as distinguished from the physical man. 
The passage then means, that not only may our bod- 
ies be represented as groaning in pain and earnestly 
expecting deliverance from the bondage of corrup- 
tion, but we ourselves, in our spiritual nature, though 
already enjoying the first fruits of the Spirit, liberty 
from sin, and the earnest of the heavenly inheritance, 
yet we are not content w^ith this but groan within 
ourselves not satisfied until our bodies are redeemed. 
We have received the Spirit of adoption, and know 
that our spirits are adopted into the family of God, 
but we still wait for the adoption of our bodies also. 
Without redeemed bodies we are incomplete, not de- 
siring simply to be unclothed by the dissolution of 
our bodies, but clothed upon, that mortality may be 
swallowed up of life. 



146 A COMMENTARY 

24. For we are saved by hope ; but hope that is seen is not 
hope: for what a man seeth, why doth he yet hope for? 

Hope can have respect only to what is in the 
future. It can therefore properly have nothing to do 
with the salvation of the soul, which is a present ex- 
perience. "He that believeth hath everlasting life." 
It is therefore not a subject of hope. So far as the 
soul is concerned we are saved by faith, and enjoy 
a present salvation. It is with respect to the body 
that we are saved by hope, and this has been the 
subject under consideration. We hope for that as a 
subject of promise ; a promise yet to be fulfilled. 

25. But if we hope for that we see not, then do we with 
patience wait for //. 

26. Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we 
know not what we should pray for as we ought : but the Spirit 
itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot 
be uttered. 

The doctrine of the intercession of the Holy Spirit 
is here plainly taught, though this important doctrine 
is seldom mentioned in the scriptures, and nowhere 
else in such unmistakable language as in this place. 
In Eph. II-i8th, we are told that through Christ we 
have " access by one Spirit unto tlie Father." Here 
the intercession of the Spirit is, no doubt, referred 
to. While therefore Christ is the only Mediator be- 
tween God and man. He is not the only Intercessor. 
The Spirit also '' itself maketh intercession for us." 



A COMMENTARY 147 

While Jesus intercedes before the throne in heaven, 
the Spirit intercedes in our hearts. He creates in us 
these unutterable desires and longings which lead to 
prevailing prayer. Unless we have these intercessions 
of the Spirit we pray at random, not knowing what 
we should pray for as we ought to know, in order to 
prevail with God. But this i?ijirmity of ignorance 
the Blessed Spirit helpeth, by teaching us what to 
pray for. The Spirit teaches us that though we ear- 
nestly desire the adoption, the redemption of our bodies, 
it is a blessing which we cannot now enjoy, but must 
i?t patience wait for it, and in patience suffer the re- 
sults of natural evil, sickness, pain and death. We 
need not expect deliverance from these evils until our 
bodies are redeemed. We may find help in special 
cases, but w^e are still liable to all these sufferings and 
inconveniences until the Father shall adopt our bodies, 
ransoming them from the power of the grave. Sick- 
ness is not necessarily an occasion of shame to the 
child of God, as some teach. He has no promise of 
present exemption from disease. That will come 
after while. 

27. And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the 
mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the 
saints according to the -will of God. 

Though we are ignorant of the intentions of the 
Deity, yet the Blessed Spirit, the Heart-Searcher, 



148 A COMMENTARY 

kiiowcth the mind of Divinity, and therefore he can 
inspire us with such desires as are in accordance with 
the will of God. So there can be no mistake when 
we pray under the inspiration and through the inter- 
cession of the Holy Spirit. Hence saints can pray 
with confidence that their prayers are heard and 
answered. 

2.8. And we know that all things work together for good 
to them that love God, to them who are the called according 
to his purpose. 

This is a thought which is full of comfort to God's 

people ; that even their severest trials and deepest 

afflictions are conspiring for their eternal welfare. 

Comment can add nothing to the clearness and force of 

this declaration. Because those ivho love God are 

here denominated the called, we are not to infer that 

none others are called ; for we are told elsewhere that 

the many are called though but few are chosen. This 

verse and the one following are relied upon by the 

Predestinarians to prove their theories, but, I think, 

without warrant. 

29, For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate 
to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be 
the first-born among many brethren. 

30. Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also 
called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom 
he justified, them he also glorified. 

That God has foreknown some as His people, and 

that such are predestined to eternal life, is certain. 



A COMMENTARY 1 49 

And that such persons are called, justified, and glori- 
fied is also clearly taught in the scriptures. But 
that, as is taught by some, this predestination is 
without foresight of faith or good works, remains to 
be proven. God has predestined to eternal life every 
believer who continues faithful to the end of his 
trial. No doubt he also , has foreknown all these. 
He knoweth the end from the beginning. But God's 
knowledge can have nothing whatever to do w^ith 
the freedom of His creatures. Nor are we to conclude 
that none are called or justified but those who are 
finally glorified. Such a claim contradicts the plain- 
est teachings of the scriptures. If the salvation 
of the soul depends entirely upon God's election, and 
God's election depends entirely upon God's will 
alone, without any reference to the character or 
conduct of the creature, then the whole scheme of 
redemption by Jesus Christ was superfluous and 
unnecessary. God can save men by His mere fiat 
alone. No such doctrine is taught here. Christ 
becomes the Jirst-born among 7?iany brethren^ when 
men become sons of God also. Jesus is the only 
begotten Son. Men are sons by adoption. It is true, 
saints are said to be begotten and born of God, but 
this is in a spiritual, not a natural, sense. Christ 
was literally begotten of the Holy Ghost, and so in 
the same sense he was the Son of God. Adam was 



150 A COMiMENTARY 

a Son of God, so called in scripture, but he was a 
son by creation and not begotten. Christ as a human 
being was literally the Son of God as well as the 
son of man, and this human nature united with the 
eternal Word is called the Son of God. The doctrine 
of the Eternal Sonship is, I think, not taught in the 
scriptures, and it has been a great stumbling-block 
to human reason. Christ, being the first-born, has 
preeminence among his brethren aside from his 
Divinity. 

31. What shall we then say to these things? If God he 
for us, who can be against ns? 

It makes no difference who intends to be against 
us, if God be for us, He will turn their evil inten- 
tions to our profit. Even the malice of demons is 
made an occasion of good to us. The stars in their 
courses fight for us. Wicked men may curse us but 
God turns their curses into blessings. O happy 
people whose God the Lord is. No power in the 
universe can harm them, except that they may harm 
themselves. 

32. He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up 
for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all 
things? 

If God gave this greatest possible gift. His own 
Son, it is not reasonable to suppose that He would 
withhold the lesser things that we might need. We 



A COMMENTARY 151 

need then have no fear of asking too much while we 
keep inside the promises. We honor God, and show 
our confidence in both His ability and magnanimity 
by asking great things of Him. If we are straitened 
in our prayers the cause is in ourselves, not in His 
promises. 

33. Who shall lay anything to the charge of God's elect? 
It is God that justifieth. 

34. Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, 
yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand 
of God, who also maketh intercession for us. 

We are told in the first verse of this chapter that 
there is no condemnation to them that are in Christ 
Jesus. This fact is reiterated here. Everything is in 
favor of them that love God. He defends them 
against their enemies, so that the wrath of man is 
made to praise Him and benefit them. He also main- 
tains their cause against their accusers who would 
condemn them. Christ is their Advocate and Inter- 
cessor, and the Father, as Judge, decides in their favor ; 
He justifies them, clears them of all fault and all 
blame. We are not to suppose that this is done 
through partiality or contrary to the truth, but ac- 
cording to the law and the facts. If God, our Judge, 
pronounces us clear, it is because the facts warrant 
such a decision. 

35. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall 
tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or naked- 
ness, or peril, » or sword? 



152 A COMMENTARY 

This question is understood in two different senses 
by different expositors. The ambiguity is found in 
the phrase " the love of Christ." The obvious mean- 
ing is ''Christ's love"; His love toward us. Some, 
however, understand it to mean our love for Christ. 
It does not matter much which way it is explained, 
as what is said here is true in either case, that noth- 
ing outside of ourselves can destroy either God's love 
toward us, or our love toward Him. As the sense 
does not require an exceptional meaning, we will give 
it the obvious one. It is objected that the evils here 
enumerated can have no influence on Christ's love for 
us, but may have upon our love for Him. True; but 
they tempt us to doubt His love for us. When we 
are under tribulation, persecution, nakedness, etc., 
we are strongly tempted to think that we are sepa- 
rated from God's love and Fatherly care ; that He has 
forgotten us, or has become indifferent to our suffer- 
ings. Satan would fain persuade us of this. Shall 
ti'ibulation? This word in the original signifies a 
crushing, compression, etc. Shall distress? The 
Greek word signifies straits, narrow places, etc. 
Shall fe7'sccutioii? The Greek word signifies a driv- 
ing away, a chasing, pursuit, etc. Shall fai7iinc? 
In times of persecution they were likely to go hun- 
gry for lack of food. Shall nakedness? This does 
not mean without any clothing, but without sufficient 



A COMMENTARY 153 

clothing, destitute, as they were liable to be when 
driven about by their persecutors. Shall peril? 
While hungry and naked, their lives were also in 
danger from the malice of their enemies. Shall the 
sword? x\nd if the worst their persecutors could in- 
flict, death, came to them, still this was no proof that 
the Lord had ceased to love them, nor could it quench 
their love to Him. 

36. As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day 
long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. 

This quotation is from Ps. XLIV-22nd verse, and is 
here applied to persecuted saints, and was literally 
fulfilled in some persecutions the earlier Christians 
suffered. 

37. Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors 
through him that loved us. 

To be a conqueror, to overcome, is a great success ; 
and to such, precious promises are made. But we 
are said to be more than conquerors. What can this 
mean.'* we may ask. The apostle was a citizen of 
the Roman Empire, and may have had in his mind 
some of the customs of that people. Among the 
Romans military success and military heroes were 
held in the highest esteem and honor. , All successful 
military leaders were accorded great honor, the high- 
est conferred by the state. But some military successes 
were more complete and overwhelming than others, 



154 A COMMENTARY 

and to such victors still higher honors were paid. 
They were given what was called a triumph. This 
was done by a vote of the Roman Senate. In this 
case the triumphant general was allowed to make his 
entry into the city of Rome in a grand procession, 
at the head of which he rode in a triumphal chariot, 
followed by his victorious troops, and also by noted 
captives in chains and on foot, conquered monarchs 
sometimes suffering such humiliations. These w^ere 
followed by the spoils taken in the war, as well as 
strange animals and other products of the conquered 
country, and prisoners of war, reduced to slavery. 
The honor of a triumph was the highest ambition of 
a Roman warrior. In such case he was recognized 
as more than a conqueror. In II Cor. II— 14th, we 
read, "Now thanks be unto God, which always causeth 
us to triumph in Christ." This is no doubt the same 
thought expressed here in Romans. 

38. For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor 
angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor 
things to come, 

39. Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be 
able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ 
Jesus our Lord. 

This is a repetition and extension of the thought 
in the 25th verse. It might be considered an answer 
to the questions therein asked. Death has no power 
to separate us from the love of God. If we are the 



A COMMENTARY 155 

Lord's while we live, we shall certainly be the Lord's 
when we die. A good testimony in the dying hour 
is well ; but often at such a time the intellect is 
clouded and consciousness intermittent or wholly 
suspended. The best and most convincing testimony 
to leave behind us, is the testimony of a holy life, 
spent in submission to the will of God. Life is more 
dangerous than death, with its trials and temptations, 
its snares and its pitfalls. The poet has well said, 

" O fear not thou to die, 

But rather fear to live; for life 
Hath thousand snares thy feet to try, 
By peril, pain and strife." 

Yet this cannot separate us from the love of God 
while we are faithful to Him. Angels^ principalities, 
and powers, hevQ no doubt refers to Satan's forces. 
We are told in Eph. VI- 12th, that "we wrestle not 
against flesh and blood, but against principalities, 
against powers." The fallen angels are here referred 
to, commonly called devils or demons. Says Charles 
Wesley of them, 

" Angels our march oppose, 

Who still in strength excel ; 
Our secret, sworn, eternal foes, 

Countless, invisible. 
From thrones of glory driven, 

By flaming vengeance hurled, 
They throng the air, and darken heaven. 

And rule this lower world." 



156 A COMMENTARY 

But even these, with all their strength, guile and 
malice, cannot separate us from the love of God. 
Though they accuse us day and night as Satan 
accused Job, they will fail in their purpose. Prin- 
cipalities and powe?'s may refer to human governments 
which became persecuting agents of Satan, symbolized 
by the great Red Dragon ; him the saints overcame 
by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their 
testimony. Things present are those difficulties and 
troubles which already beset us ; tilings to come are 
those which wait for us in the future of our experience 
here on earth. These latter are apt to give us more 
concern than the former. We know not how severe 
and overwhelming these may prove to be, and we 
are tempted to doubt our strength to bear them. 
But we have the assurance that whatever they may 
be they shall not be insurmountable nor unbearable. 
Nor height; no exaltation of soul nor of fortune ; nor 
depth; no depression of spirit nor desperation of condi- 
tion, shall be able to separate us from the love of 
God. Exaltation might induce pride and self-confi- 
dence, depression might lead to the casting away of 
our confidence, and to despair of God's mercy. But 
grace will be suflicient in either case. Nor any other 
creature; nothing but our own choice can separate us 
from the love of God ; all the remainder of creation 
is powerless to do this. The love of God, manifested 



A COMMENTARY 157 

in the gift of His Son, Jesus the Christ, is above 
human comprehension; it " passeth knowledge." 
We can feel its force and yield to its blessed com- 
pulsion, but its infinite height and fathomless depth 
is beyond our finite grasp. 

General Observations. 

God's foreknowledge, and His predestination of 
believers to eternal life, are matters which in former 
times were subjects of warm, and sometimes bitter, 
controversy. That controversy seems at length to have 
ceased upon these points. God's foreknowledge is a 
stumbling-block to many, who cannot see how it can 
be consistent with human freedom. Yet the difficulty 
is only seeming and not real. I would lay it down as 
a universal proposition that the knowledge of no 
intelligent being concerning an act of another intelli- 
gent being can have any infiuence or effect upon 
that act. It makes no difference whether that 
knowledge exists before the act, after the act, or 
during its performance. It is easily seen that this is 
true concerning knowledge of an act during, or after, 
its performance ; but it is imagined that previous 
knowledge of an act has a compelling effect. But no 
intelligent reason for this surmise can be given. The 
opinion is based upon the assumption that the act 



158 A COMMENTARY 

will happen because it is foreknown ; while the truth 
is, it is foreknown because it will occur. What has 
occurred in the past I may know because it has 
occurred. What is transpiring now 1 may know 
because it is happening. Why should it be different 
concerning future events.^ If God knows what will 
happen in the future, He knows it because it is going 
to happen ; it is not going to happen because He 
foreknows it. Strictly speaking, there is no fore- 
knowledge with God. He fills eternity, and all 
eternity is as much present with Him as the fugitive 
moment is with us. And His knowledge has no more 
effect upon the conduct of free agents than our 
knowledge has. 



CHAPTER IX. 

1. I say the truth in Christ, I lie not, my conscience also 
bearing me witness in the Holy Ghost, 

2. That I have great heaviness and continual sorrow in my 
heart. 

St. Paul was the apostle to the Gentiles and mag- 
nified his office ; and in doing so he incurred the 
suspicion and enmity of his own people, the Jews. 
They accused him of being an apostate and an enemy 
of his nation. Because he would not allow the Jew- 
ish law to be imposed on the Gentile Christians, he 
was accounted an enemy of the law. It is, no doubt, 
for this reason that he feels it necessary to make such 
strong assertions of his love for his Jewish brethren. 
He feared they would not believe him sincere. 

3. For I could wish that myself were accursed from Christ 
for my brethren, my kinsmen according to the flesh: 

The apostle represents his sorrow for the obstinacy 
of his Jewish brethren to be so acute that he could 
wish to suffer in their stead if by this means they 
might be saved. He would be willing to do for them 
what Christ has done for us. He became a curse for 

(159) 



l6o A COMMENTARY 

US, as it is written, '* Cursed is every one that hangeth 
on a tree." St. Paul does not say that he does^ this, 
as it is impossible; but that he could do it, so great 
is his grief. Moses felt similarly concerning Israel, 
and asked that he might be blotted out of God's book 
for their sakes. This love surpasses that which Christ 
concedes to natural men. He says, " Greater love hath 
no man than this, that a man lay down his life for 
his friend." To be willing to bear the wrath of God 
due to another, is a much greater manifestation of 
love. The Jews did not, however, give him credit 
for such affection. 

4. Who are Israelites; to whom pertaineth the adoption, 
and the glory, and the covenants, and the giving of the law, 
and the service of God, and the promises; 

5. Whose are the fathers, and of whom as concerning the 
flesh Christ came, who is over all, God blessed forever. Amen. 

The apostle here, by way of conciliation, concedes 
to the Jews all that he can concede, for he is about 
to say some very unwelcome and distasteful things, 
which it will be hard for them to receive. In his 
care to avoid all unnecessary cause for offence, and in 
his willingness to give them credit for everything 
possible, he shows his sincere love for their souls, and 
sets an example for other ministers of Christ to im- 
itate. Israelites were so called because descended 
from Jacob, the grandson of Abraham, whose name 
was changed at the time of his wrestling with the 



A COMMENTARY l6l 

angel of the Lord. It was said to him at that time, 
"Thy name shall be called no more Jacob (supplanter), 
but Israel (prince of God)." The adoptio7i refers to 
their having been chosen to be God's peculiar people. 
Covenants were made first with Abraham, and after- 
ward with all Israel at Sinai. The glory of the old 
covenant was reflected in Moses' face, at the time of 
the promulgation of the law at Sinai. The giving of 
the law took place at the same time under circum- 
stances of great impressiveness, and with manifesta- 
tions very grand and terrifying. The service of God 
was carried on first in the tabernacle erected in the 
wilderness by God's command, and carried from place 
to place as the Israelites journeyed, and afterward in 
the temple built by Solomon, and then, after the res- 
toration from Babylon, in the second temple, which 
stood at the time of Christ's advent. The promises 
which are fulfilled in Christ were given to the Jews, 
and the wrong interpretation of these promises had 
given the Jews a false security and a false hope. 
Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, together with the twelve 
sons of Jacob, sometimes called the twelve patriarchs, 
are those referred to as the fathers. Of this stock 
Christ was born according to the flesh. In order to 
get rid of the force of the last clause of this 5th 
verse, our Unitarian friends would render it. Blessed 
be God forever. Amen. This rendering seems to be 



1 62 A COMMENTARY 

a rather violent twisting of the original Greek to 
serve a purpose. 

6. Not as though the word of God hath taken none effect. 
For they are not all Israel, which are of Israel : 

7. Neither, because they are the seed of Abraham, are they 
all children : but, In Isaac shall thy seed be called. 

8. That is, They which are the children of the flesh, these 
are not the children of God : but the children of the promise 
are counted for the seed. 

For want of proper consideration of the principles 
stated in these verses, much confusion and misunder- 
standing have resulted. The promises made to Israel 
are generally applied to all the descendants of Abraham 
through Isaac and Jacob, while we are here informed 
that they apply to but a part of the natural seed. I 
refer to promises that are to be fulfilled under the 
present dispensation. Formerly, all of Abraham's 
children were excluded except Isaac. It is true that 
Isaac was the only legitimate child, being the son of 
Sarah, Abraham's wife, while his other children were 
children of concubines. But they were not necessarily 
excluded on this account, as Jacob's children, who 
w^ere the children of concubines, inherited along with 
the children of Rachel and Leah. It was for some 
other cause that Ishmael and the other sons of con- 
cubinage were left out. The apostle uses this fact as 
a type of spiritual things. As Isaac who was a child 
of promise, and whose birth was supernatural, was 



A COMMENTARY 163 

made heir to the exclusion of the purely natural 
children, so God's children under the gospel are all 
children of promise, and have a supernatural birth. 
All others, whether Jew or Gentile, are excluded from 
the covenant, and have no promise. Under the gos- 
pel, there is no promise to any man because of his 
natural descent, or for any fleshly reason. The com- 
mon assumption, then, that there is a promise of 
salvation to all the Jews because they are Abraham's 
seed must be a mistake. The children of promise are 
the seed to whom all the promises are made. 

9. For this is the word of promise, At this time will I 
come, and Sarah shall have a son. 

Sarah was ninety years old at the time the promise 
was made and had always been barren. There could 
be no natural prospect of motherhood in her case. 
It seemed so preposterous to her that when she heard 
the promise she laughed, as did Abraham when the 
promise was first given him. Hence the child was 
named Isaac, an anglicism of the Hebrew word 
meaning " laughter." 

10. And not only this; but when Rebecca also had con- 
ceived by one, even by our father Isaac ; 

11. (For the children being not yet born, neither having 
done any good or evil, that the purpose of God according to 
election might stand, not of works, but of him that calleth;) 

12. It was said unto her, The elder shall serve the younger. 

13. As it is written, Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I 
hated. 



164 A COMMENTARY 

The apostle's argument is that God acts as a 
sovereign in disposing of men in this world. As He 
chose the Jews in this way formerly, He had now 
the same right to reject them from being His pecul- 
iar people. This the Jews were unwilling to believe 
or acknowledge. God chose Isaac instead of Ishmael, 
Jacob instead of Esau, not because either was better 
than the other, but because the one chosen suited 
God's purpose better. But this choice, or election, 
had nothing to do with their eternal salvation as is 
sometimes imagined. It does not mean that every- 
thing Jacob did is to be approved, or Esau's conduct 
all condemned. It is true that Esau lacked the re- 
ligious instinct or an appreciation of sacred things, 
and so is called a profane person, and was unsuited 
to God's plan ; but he was a much more honest man 
than Jacob, frank and open, while Jacob was subtile 
and guileful, manifesting the tactics of the weaker. 
But he had the religious sense, a reverence for things 
sacred, which were necessary to God's purpose, and 
he was chosen to be the progenitor of the peculiar 
race. The prophecy that the elder should serve the 
younger^ had respect to their posterity and not to 
Jacob and Esau, as Esau never served Jacob. On 
the contrary Jacob made submission to Esau on his 
return to Canaan from Mesopotamia, and called him 
"My lord Esau." But when Isaac was about to die, 



A COMMENTARY I 65 

he insisted on giving the blessing of the first-born to 
Jacob, not because Esau had sold his birthright for 
a mess of pottage, nor because of Jacob's stratagem, 
but because God had chosen Jacob. All the latter's 
subterfuges and stratagems were unnecessary. God 
had not made it necessary for him to become a liar 
and a thief to obtain that which he had already de- 
signed for him. Esau could find no place of repent- 
ance, not in himself, for he repented bitterly enough, 
but in his father ; he could not persuade his father to 
change his mind. Esau was hated in the sense that 
he was loved less, or that another was preferred to 
him. In the same sense in which we are commanded 
to hate father and mother. Jacob was loved in the 
sense that he was preferred for God's purpose. This 
love had nothing to do with his salvation, nor was 
God's hatred of Esau detrimental to his salvation any 
further than his love for Jacob was promotive of his 
salvation. Neither was affected in any way. 

14. What shall we say then? Is there unrighteousness 
with God? God forbid. 

That is, is it unjust in God to choose one rather 
than another as his special instrument, and thus to 
honor one above another? Does he do wrong to the 
one thus rejected? No; in these temporal affairs God 
acts as a Sovereign, giving no reason why. No one 
has any claim to the honor, and so is not injured, 



1 66 A COMMENTARY 

nor deprived of any right when another is preferred 
to him. The object of these illustrations is to obviate 
the objection made by the Jevs^, that God cannot 
justly take church-membership from that people and 
give it to another people. 

15. For he saith to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I 
will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will 
have compassion. 

God has an undeniable right to determine upon 
what conditions he will have mercy and compassion. 
These conditions are plainly stated in His word. But 
these conditions apply equally to all men. He does 
not have mercy on one man, and refuse to have 
mercy on another man except for the reason that one 
man complies with the conditions and the other does 
not. With respect to temporal matters it is different, 
as these do not determine men's eternal destiny, and 
there will be compensations for present inequalities. 
In the other case there cannot be such compensations. 
None of God's creatures are outside possible mercy 
except as a result of their own choice; for ^' His 
tender mercies are over all His works," and they 
"endure forever." 

16. So then // is not of him that willoth, nor of him that 
runneth, but of God that sheweth mercy. 

The condition upon which God will grant His 
favor is not dictated by Iiim tliat iciUcth nor by him 



A COMMENTARY 167 

that runneth^ but by God Himself who shows the 
mercy and grants the favor. No man has any right 
to dictate the terms upon which God shall grant 
him favor. But this does not mean that God arbi- 
trarily saves one man and damns another simply 
because He chooses to do so, there being no dif- 
ference in the objects of His mercy and His wrath. 
Such conduct on the part of a God of Infinite Love 
is inconceivable ; and to extract such poison from the 
scripture under consideration is to "change the truth 
of God into a lie." 

17. For the scripture saith unto Pharaoh, Even for this 
same purpose have I raised thee up, that I might shew my 
power in thee, and that my name might be declared through- 
out all the earth. 

God raised up Pharaoh, that is, elevated him to 
the throne of Egypt that He might use him to 
make known His power, that the knowledge of the 
true God might be widely disseminated. He used 
Nebuchadnezzar in the same way, as also Darius the 
Mede. He saw that Pharaoh was stubborn, and 
headstrong, and would refuse to let the Israelites go 
at God's command. By resisting God, he gave occasion 
for such wonderful displays of God's power upon His 
enemies as were seen in the ten plagues of Egypt. 

18. Therefore hath he mercy on whom he will have mercy, 
and whom he will he hardeneth. 



1 68 A COMMENTARY 

He has mercy on those who submit to Him, and 
hardens those who resist Him. Resisting God natu- 
rally hardens the heart, and makes it still more difficult 
to yield to His demands. To charge that God arbi- 
trarily hardened Pharaoh's heart and then punished 
him for his stubbornness, is a horrible slander upon the 
Divine character. Mr. Wesley, in his controversy 
with Mr. Toplady on the subject of predestination, 
illustrates this slander by instancing the case of the 
Roman Emperor, Tiberius, who wishing to take the 
life of a Roman family containing a young girl, 
knowing that the Roman law forbade the execution 
of a virgin, commanded the executioner first to 
deflower and then to kill her. But, says Mr. Wesley, 
"Even good Tiberius did not command her to be 
slain because she had been deflowered." If he had 
done this, it would have been just such conduct as 
is sometimes charged upon God Almighty. 

19. Thou wilt say then unto me, Why doth he yet find 
fault? For who hath resisted his will? 

The apostle here supposes some one, presumably a 

Jew, to cavil at what has been said. "If in these 

things God acts according to His own will, and we 

have nothing to say, it takes all responsibility off of 

us, since we have not thwarted His will. Why does 

He then find fault with us?" I have heard like 

objections made in an effort to throw off responsi- 



A COMMENTARY 169 

bility. One will say, "I was not consulted as to my 
birth, and my surroundings, nor as to the character 
of my parents ; nor could I avoid having a perverse 
nature and evil tempers. I am just as God made me, 
why should He find fault with me? " This is all true 
but it is only a part of the truth, and is a direct 
charge against God's ways, and His government of 
the world. It is a dishonest charge ; for the objector 
knows that it is not a full and fair statement of the 
case. We cannot thus shift responsibility for our 
wrong-doing. But if all our conduct were the result 
of an irresistible decree of Deity, then the objection 
would be valid and reasonable. 

20. Nay but, O man, who art thou that repliest against 
God? Shall the thing formed say to him that formed i7. 
Why hast thou made me thus? 

21. Hath not the potter power over the clay, of the same 
lump to make one vessel unto honor, and another unto dis- 
honor? 

The potter certainly has this power and the right 
also. So has God the right to make of the same 
human clay one man for an honorable position, 
another for one less honorable or by comparison, one 
of dishonor. But the potter's vessels are both useful 
though one may be found in the dining-room and 
the other in the chamber. But the potter does not 
make a useless vessel simply for the pleasure of 
destroying it. If he were guilty of such conduct he 



170 A COMMENTARY 

would soon find himself in a lunatic asylum Yet 
God is charged with creating some men for the 
express purpose of destroying them ' to the praise of 
His glorious justice."" We are told in another place 
how we may become vessels unto honor in a spiritual 
sense; in temporal matters we have no choice. "But 
in a great house there are not only vessels of gold 
and silver, but also of wood and of earth ; and some 
to honor, and some to dishonor. If a man therefore 
purge himself from these, he shall be a vessel unto 
honor, sanctified, and meet for the master's use, ajid 
prepared unto every good work." (II Tim. II, 
20-3 1.) 

22. What if God, willing to shew his wrath, and to make 
his power known, endured with much longsuffering the vessels 
of wrath fitted to destruction : 

God's manifestations of His displeasure at sin by 
inflicting temporal punishments is not only justice to 
the offenders, but a mercy to others, being a warning 
against like conduct in them. This is one of the 
principal objects of such punishments. Pharaoh and 
the Egyptians, the Canaanitish nations dispossessed 
by the Israelites, the inhabitants of Sodom and 
Gomorrah, are all examples of God's wrath. They 
were vessels of ivrath jittcd to destruction; but they 
had by their ungodliness and shamelessness, and by 
their incorrigibility, fitted themselves for destruction ; 



A COMMENTARY 171 

God had not so fitted them although resistance to 
Him had hardened them. He endured with much 
longsuffering their detestable crimes against God and 
human nature itself, until there was left no hope of 
reformation. To teach that God by irresistible decree 
produced such conduct, and then claimed to endure 
His own work with longsuffering, is to attribute to 
Deity a duplicity that is astounding. 

23. And that he might make known the riches of his glory 
on the vessels of mercy, which he had afore prepared unto 
glory, 

While God shows severity toward incorrigible offend- 
ers that others might fear to transgress, the great 
purpose of His love toward mankind is to save them. 
He seizes upon the opportunity, as it were, which is 
afforded by man's lost condition, to make known the 
riches of His mercy. This display of mercy is, so far 
as we know, unique, and the angels are reputed to 
be curious concerning it. While God is glorified in 
the punishment of the wicked, in both this age and 
the next one, He is much more glorified in their 
salvation. These vessels of mercy were prepared 
aforetime in God's purpose to save them that believe. 

24. Even us, whom he hath called, not of the Jews only, 
but also of the Gentiles? 

These vessels of mercy were not the descendants of 
Jacob as distinguished from those of Esau, but 



172 A COMMENTARY 

believers of both Jews and Gentiles as distinguished 
from unbelievers. 

25. As he saith also in Osee, I will call them my people, 
which were not my people; and her beloved, which was not 
beloved. 

26. And it shall come to pass, that in the place where it 
was said unto them, Ye are not my people ; there shall they 
be called the children of the living God. 

These prophecies portend a change of dispensations 
and a change of churches. The new church is com- 
posed principally of those who were not God'' s people, 
that is of Gentiles. It is not exclusively a Gen- 
tile church, nor was the former church exclusively 
Jewish, there being proselytes from among the Gen- 
tiles incorporated in it. The two churches are here 
spoken of as two women, the first wife having been 
divorced for her unfaithfulness that the other might 
take her place. It is a common figure in both the Old 
and New Testaments to call the church God's wife 
or bride. If there is a new wife which ivas not be- 
loved, and a new people which was not God's peo- 
ple, how can it be true, as is generally taught, 
that the Church of Christ is organically identical with 
the Mosaic church, with no change except of ordi- 
nances? This would not be a new wife which for- 
merly was not beloved, but the same wife as of old 
with but a change of raiment. 

27. Esaias also crieth concerning Israel, Though the num- 



A COMMENTARY 173 

ber of the children of Israel be as the sand of the sea, a rem- 
nant shall be saved : 

28. For he will finish the work, and cut it short in right- 
eousness : because a short work will the Lord make upon the 
earth. 

29. And as Esaias said before. Except the Lord of Sabaoth 
had left us a seed, we had been as Sodoma, and been made like 
unto Gomorrha. 

These scriptures are quoted to show that the 
rejection of a large part of the Jewish nation had 
been foretold, though they had failed to notice or to 
understand the prophecies. Like other men they 
were much more sure to note God's promises than 
His threatenings. And while they were quick to 
appropriate the promises to themselves, they were 
slow to believe any threatened evil could be meant 
for them. They were unwilling to look squarely at 
the truth revealed in the scriptures which they so 
highly venerated. 

30. What shall we say then? That the Gentiles, which 
followed not after righteousness, have attained to righteous- 
ness, even the righteousness which is of faith. 

Since this change of dispensations has been clearly 
foretold, and also the rejection of the Jewish nation 
as the Church of God, and the admission of the 
Gentiles to equal privileges with the Jews, as well 
as the refusal of the mass of the Israelites to accept 
of God's terms, what is to be said? This is to be 
said : that the Gentiles who cared nothing for God's 



174 A COMMENTARY 

favor and made no effort after justification have attained 
to justification, because they sought it by faith. 

31. But Israel, which followed after the law of righteous- 
ness, hath not attained to the law of righteousness. , 

32. Wherefore? Because they sought it not by faith, but 
as it were, by the works of the law. For they stumbled at that 
stumblingstone ; 

33. As it is written. Behold, I lay in Sion a stumblingstone 
and rock of ofTence : and whosoever believeth on him shall not 
be ashamed. 

The Jews, seeking justification by the works of 
the law failed to find it. The doctrine of Justifica- 
tion by Faith without Works seemed to them an 
insuperable obstacle. They could not divest them- 
selves of the idea of meriting something ; and were 
unwilling to become spiritual paupers. Salvation by 
Faith is a stumblingstone not to the Jews alone, but 
to proud, self-confident humanity in all nations. 
Though much talked and written about it is yet 
little understood, and most men still, consciously or 
unconsciously, trust in themselves that they are 
righteous. The majority of nominal Christians have 
drifted toward or into Socinianism, while most of the 
remainder have taken refuge in barren Antinomianism. 
The former trust in dead works, the latter in a dead 
faith. Real believers are "delivered from dead works 
to serve the living God"; having a faith whicli is 
the fruitful source of universal obedience to the law 
of love. 



A COMMENTARY 175 



General Observations. 

The apostle has in this chapter laid the foundation 
of an argument, continued in the next two chapters, 
in which he undertakes to prove that the rejection 
of a large part of the Jewish nation is no infraction 
of God's promise to Israel. He shows that Israel 
does not necessarily include all the natural seed of 
Abraham, since all of Abraham's children except 
Isaac are left out of the covenant, and that Esau, 
the eldest son of Isaac, though Jacob's twin brother, 
is also rejected. He shows, secondly, that none of 
the natural descendants of Abraham are, by virtue 
of that relation, the seed to whom the promises were 
made, since it is written, "In Isaac shall thy seed be 
called"; which he explains to mean that all the real 
Israel is composed of those who, like Isaac, are chil- 
dren of promise, that is, children of faith. He shows 
further that the prophets Hosea and Isaiah have 
foretold an ecclesiastical change in which a new ele- 
ment is to be incorporated into God's church, and 
that it is intimated that but a small remnant of Jews 
shall be included among the people of the New 
Covenant. He shows, finally, that their rejection is 
their own fault, because of their stubborn adherence 
to a system of works by which they sought justifica- 



176 A COMMENTARY 

tion. He also demonstrates that God cannot be 
charged with injustice in honoring one person rather 
than another, since no one has any claim upon the 
place of honor, and is not, consequently, injured when 
discriminated against, as these differences are but 
temporary, and do not determine the future destiny 
of any one. 



CHAPTER X. 

1. Brethren, my heart's desire and prayer to God for Israel 
is, that they might be saved. 

The word " Israel " is here used in its literal sense 
to signify the whole Jewish people. The apostle 
earnestly desired their salvation, and prayed to God 
for this ; not that they might all be saved, for he 
knew this to be impossible, but that as many as possi- 
ble of them might be saved. As he did not know 
what individual Jews would yield to the Gospel, he 
might pray for any one of them, and in that sense 
might pray for all of them. In this sense we may 
pray for all men, though absolutely certain that not 
all will be saved. 

2. For I bear them record that they have a zeal of God, 
but not according to knowledge. 

Zeal for God is an excellent thing and will atone 
for many mistakes. Without it all service is a hard- 
ship and likely to be done grudgingly. But blind 
zeal is likely to do more harm than good. Nearly all 
the innocent blood that has been shed in religious 
persecutions has been shed under the stimulus of mis- 

12 (177) 



178 A COMMENTARY 

directed zeal for God. Such a zeal Charles Wesley 
describes : 

"The spirit of my foes I caught, 
Their angry bitter zeal ; 
And fierce for my own party fought, 
And breathed the fire of hell." 

Some one accused John Wesley of not distinguish- 
ing between zeal and wrath. He replied, " Yes I do. 
Wrath is furious fire from hell ; zeal is loving fire 
from heaven." This is true zeal, but something else 
is often mistaken for it. But even this zeal must be 
directed by knowledge or it will often miss the 
mark. It is right that we should run and also fight ; 
but we are not to run uncertainly nor fight as one 
beating the air. It is intimated in scripture that a 
man may really build on the one true foundation, and 
yet lose all his labor, because he has built of perish- 
able materials, dead works that will not stand the 
test. Not many real Christians probably make so 
deplorable a mistake ; but the great mass of professed 
Christians build of no other materials. Like the 
Jews, their zeal for God is not according to knowl- 
edge. 

3. For they being ignorant of God's righteousness, and 
going about to establish their own righteousness, have not sub- 
mitted themselves unto the righteousness of God. 

Their ignorance was concerning God's plan of 

justifying men ; and not knowing God's plan they 



A COMMENTARY 179 

sought to establish their own plan, which was by the 
works of the law ; and of course while engaged in 
such endeavors they failed to submit to God's plan of 
justification, as it is the exact opposite of theirs. To 
seek in any degree to be justified by works, whether 
of the Jewish law or of any other law, is to discard 
God's plan entirely. 

4. For Christ t's the end of the law for righteousness to 
every one that believeth. 

This is a fundamental principle of Christianity. 
To seek justification through Christ, is to disclaim all 
merit, to abandon law of any kind as a condition of 
God's favor. *To trust in any act of our own, any 
ordinance or rite to which we can submit, any self- 
denial or mortification which we can undergo, to 
trust in the least any or all of these or any like 
things, is to deny Christ and to reject God's plan of 
justification. Christ is the end of all doing in order 
to obtain righteousness or justification. This is the 
force and meaning of the above declaration. 

5. For Moses describeth the righteousness which is of the 
law, That the man which doeth those things shall live by 
them. 

This is the nature and condition of legal righteous- 
ness. It is approval earned by obedience to law. 
The reward is not reckoned of grace but of debt. 
Faith is not necessary in such a scheme, but works 



l8o A COMMENTARY 

only. But as no man is able to keep any law that 
could give life, we must be saved, if saved at all, 
upon some other condition, namely, by grace through 
faith, instead of by merit through works of obedi- 
ence. 

6. But the righteousness which is of faith speaketh on this 
wise, Say not in thine heart, Who shall ascend into heaven? 
(that is, to bring Christ down from above:) 

7. Or, Who shall descend into the deep? (that is, to bring 
up Christ again from the dead.) 

8. But what saith it? The word is nigh thee, eveii in thy 
mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the word of faith which we 
preach ; 

The above quotation is from Deut. XXX, 12-14, 
and is the language of Moses to the Israelites con- 
cerning the law which had just been repeated to 
them. Its application by the apostle to the gospel 
is quite unexpected, and if uninspired men were to 
thus apply scripture it would be considered a strained 
use of it. This should convince us that there is much 
more of spiritual meaning in the Old Testament 
scriptures than is usually imagined. The quotation 
is evidently made from the Septuagint version, as the 
English translation from the Hebrew renders it 
"over the sea" instead of "into the deep," which 
would spoil the apostle's explanation, that it referred 
to bringing Christ up from the dead. The meaning 
of the question is that we cannot excuse our neglect 
or rejection of salvation, by declaring that the con- 



A COMMENTARY i8i 

ditions are unreasonable or impossible ; as they are 
nigh us, perfectly adapted to our conditions and 
necessities. 

9. That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, 
and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from 
the dead, thou shalt be saved. 

10. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; 
and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. 

Believing with the heai^t is a very different thing 
from mere intellectual assent. The latter is produced 
by evidence without any concurrence of the will, the 
former is the result of choice and volition. In this 
sense I may or may not believe, as I choose. It is a 
faith that is a matter of choice, that saves, not one that 
is a matter of necessity. This salvation must be con- 
fessed in order to be retained. A salvation which is 
concealed from others is impossible. 

11. For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him 
shall not be ashamed. 

This seems to refer to the matter of confession 
spoken of in the preceding sentence. Those who 
really believe in Christ find Him precious and faith- 
ful and they are so filled with love for Him that they 
are not ashamed to confess Him as their Lord and 
Savior. Shamefacedness before men suggests strong 
doubt of the genuineness of our experience. 

12. For there is no difference between the Jew and the 
Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call 
upon him. 



I 82 A COMMENTARY 

13. For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord 
shall be saved. 

The Jew no longer occupies a position of advan- 
tage. All difference between him and the Gentile has 
disappeared. Jehovah is the same Lord over all. 
There is no promise made to the Jew that does not 
equally apply to the Gentile. All stand upon the same 
footing, every one without distinction being saved if 
he calls up07i the naiiie of the Lord for salvation. 
This disproves the theory that the Jews have some 
special promises, and that some special means will 
be used for their conversion. There is no real foun- 
dation in scripture for this popular hypothesis. 

14. How then shall they call on him in whom they have 
not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they 
have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher? 

15. And how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it 
is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the 
gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things! 

Men will not call upon God unless they believe in 
His existence, and His willingness to help them. 
'' He that cometh to God must believe that He is, 
and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently 
seek him." And they cannot believe in Him until 
they hear of Him. This necessitates a herald or 
preacher, that men may hear of Christ and His sal- 
vation. But in order that they may preach, they must 
be sent. The apostle sees as great a difliculty in this. 



A COMMENTARY 1 83 

as in the other things mentioned. When he asks, 
"How can they hear without a preacher?" he means 
to state emphatically that they cannot hear without a 
preacher. And when he asks, "How can they preach, 
except they be sent?" he means to assert that they 
cannot preach unless sent. But by whom sent? By 
men? by the church? Some people think this is the 
meaning, as they reject the doctrine of a Divine call 
to the ministry. The apostles preached without any 
commission from man, and seem to have been rather 
successful preachers. The lack of a human commis- 
sion does not therefore seem to be an insuperable ob- 
stacle to success. The apostle must therefore have' 
referred to a Divine commission. How shall men 
preach the gospel except they be sent of God? If you 
seek an answer to this question look around you. 
You will see on all 'sides the results of such preaching. 
Only those who are sent of God can so preach as to 
secure the salvation from sin of those that hear them. 
Those who are sent of God are His accredited am- 
bassadors, and represent Him among men. The others 
run without being sent and are of no value. 

16. But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Esaias 
saith, Lord, who hath believed our report ? 

The fact that not all the Jews had believed the 

gospel, was apparent ; indeed comparatively few of 

them had done so. But this was only what had 



184 A COMMENTARY 

been foretold of them by their own prophets. This 
quotation from Isaiah indicates that to the prophets' 
eye the preaching of the gospel had been a failure 
so far as the Jews were concerned. But a small 
remnant of them really accepted Christ. 

17. So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the 
word of God. 

Hearing is the appointed and usual means of pro- 
ducing faith ; but it is not the exclusive means, as 
reading is sometimes substituted for it. But we have 
no right to depend upon any but the God appointed 
means, which is the most effective and powerful 
agency for the salvation of men. A decadent and 
powerless pulpit is a sure sign of apostasy. Hearing 
comes by the word of God. Faith cometh by hearing 
the gospel. It is the power of God unto salvation. 
There are various kinds of preaching that do not 
produce faith when heard. Men may preach philos- 
ophy, ethics, sociology, the doctrine of men, moral 
reforms, and produce no faith in the hearers. The 
simple story of the cross antiquated as it may seem 
to many, " repentance toward God and faith toward 
our Lord Jesus Christ," "Jesus and the resurrec- 
tion," these are the themes that produce faith. 

18. But I say, Have they not heard? Yes verily, their 
sound went into all the earth, and their words unto the ends of 
the world. 



A COMMENTARY 185 

Just how far the apostles of our Lord succeeded in 
fulfilling the commission they received from Him, to 
go into all the world and preach the gospel, it is 
difficult now to ascertain with certainty, though St. 
Paul in Col. I-23rd, declares that the gospel "was 
preached to every creature under heaven." But 
probably his language is not to be understood precisely 
and literally. We are dependent upon tradition for 
much of our testimony on this point. But it is probable 
that every known country of the habitable earth had 
already received the gospel before the close of the 
first century. Some countries of Asia, and some in 
the Northern parts of Europe were "terras incog- 
nitae " to the Greeks and Romans. Among these we 
may probably include China and Japan. There is no 
evidence, so far as I know, that these countries were 
visited by any of the apostles or other evangelists. 
Of course the Western continent was totally unknown. 
But those countries in which the Jews were found 
were all visited and as the order was "to the Jew 
first," they could not plead ignorance. 

19. But I saj, Did not Israel know? First Moses saith, 
I will provoke you to jealousy by thon that are no people, and 
by a foolish nation I will anger you. 

St. Peter writes, " But ye are a chosen generation, a 
royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; 
that ye should shew forth the praises of him who 



l86 A COMiMENTARY 

hath called you out of darkness into his marvelous 
light : which in time past were not a people, but are 
now the people of God." (I Peter, II, 9, 10.) This 
passage seems to identify the people which arc 710 
people with the church of Jesus Christ. They are 
also the foolish nation; not foolish in reality, but in 
the estimation of other men. There is no Gentile 
nation to which this could in any sense apply. It 
was through the Christians that St. Paul hoped to 
provoke his Jewish brethren and so perchance save 
some of them. It is true that the church of Christ 
is composed principally of Gentiles ; but it is as 
Christians and not as Gentiles that they are the 
people of God. 

20. But Esaias is very bold, and saith, I was found of them 
that sought me not; I was made manifest unto them that asked 
not after me. 

This clearly refers to the Gentiles, and is a proph- 
ecy of their call to church-membership. The bold- 
ness of the prophet consists in his so plainly setting 
forth the call of the Gentiles and the rejection of the 
Jews. 

21. But to Israel he saith, All day long I have stretched 
forth my hands unto a disobedient and gainsaying people. 

This is a serious charge and abundantly justified by 
the facts. It is when men are unwilling to obey, 
that they begin to question what they hear, thus be- 



A COMMENTARY 187 

coming gainsayers. The Jews never were an obedi- 
ent people ; as Stephen charges, they always resisted 
the Holy Ghost. They had no real faith as a nation, 
but they had a fanatical presumption that they were 
in the favor of God. They believed themselves to be 
so peculiarly dear to Jehovah that they would be 
protected from all harm, obedient or disobedient. 
They would not believe that His partiality for them 
could ever fail, and they rejected with scorn a reli- 
gion that Gentiles could share with them on equal 
terms. Even when the Roman armies surrounded the 
walls of their doomed city, this fanaticism did not 
fail them ; and they remained defiant, regardless of 
all reasonable means of defence. They were guilty 
of that presumption which they charged upon the 
Lord Jesus. " He trusted in God that He would de- 
liver him" said they; "now let Him deliver him 
seeing that He delighted in him." But even the 
awful disasters and disappointments attending the 
fall of Jerusalem did not subdue their obstinacy. 
They still remained obdurate and unyielding. 



CHAPTER XI. 

1. I say then, Hath God cast away his people? God for- 
bid. For I also am an Israelite, of the seed of Abraham, of 
the tribe of Benjamin. 

This question has a double meaning, and receives 
a double answer, ist, Has God cast away His ancient 
people, the Jews? Has He entirely rejected them so 
that they have no opportunity for church privileges? 
Has He now taken the Gentiles to the exclusion of 
the Jews, as He formerly took the Jews to the ex- 
clusion of the Gentiles? "Certainly not," answers the 
apostle, "as a proof of which I am an example." 
The Jews as a nation were no longer the people of 
God ; but as individuals, they had equal privileges 
with the Gentiles. They were not irrevocably cast 
away. 

2. God hath not cast away his people which he foreknew. 
Wot ye not what the scripture saith of Elias? how he maketh 
intercession to God against Israel, saying, 

3. Lord, they have killed thy prophets, and digged down 
thine altars; and I am left alone, and they seek my life. 

Here we have the answer to the second meaning 

of the question, Hath (Jod cast away his people? 
(188) 



A COMMENTARY 189 

His people whom He foreknew have not been cast 
away, nor has His attitude toward them changed in 
any way. The apostle here makes a distinction be- 
tween the natural seed of Abraham, and God's peo- 
ple whom He foreknew. 

On this distinction hinges the interpretation of the 
remainder of this chapter. The Jews claimed that if 
they were cast oflF, God's promises to His people 
would fail. This the apostle denies, and claims that 
these unfulfilled promises were not made to the 
natural seed of Abraham, but that the children of the 
promise were counted for the seed, and that these 
included both Jew and Gentile. * 

4. But what saith the answer of God unto him? I have 
reserved to myself seven thousand men, who have not bowed 
the knee to the image of Baal. 

5. Even so then at this present time also there is a remnant 
according to the election of grace. 

Even in the time of Elijah the Israelites had so far 
apostatized by adolatrous practices as to make void 
all God's promises to them ; and so general was this 
apostasy that Elijah supposed himself the only faith- 
ful one left in Israel. Yet there was a remnant of 
several thousand left. Even so it was at the time 
the apostle wrote. But this remnant was according 
to the election of grace ; that is, through their 
acceptance of the gospel. As in the time of Elijah, 
the remnant were all who had any promise, so the 



IQO A COMMENTARY 

Jews who had accepted Christianity were the only 
ones in that nation who had any promise. The 
others, having rejected Christ, were threatened with 
destruction, according to the prophecy of Moses, that 
God should raise up a prophet like unto himself, and 
that every one who would not hear this prophet 
should be destroyed. 

6. And if by grace, then z's it no more of works : otherwise 
grace is no more grace. But if // be of works, then is it no 
more grace: otherwise work is no more work. 

This has been already explained. Grace presup- 
poses the absence of all debt or merit ; works pre- 
suppose nothing else. Consequently, in the nature of 
things, they mutually exclude each other. This plain 
proposition is however not much more clearly imder- 
stood by nominal Christians than it was by the 
Jews. 

7. What then ? Israel hath not obtained that which he 
seeketh for; but the election hath obtained it, and the rest 
were blinded. 

The facts show, and the prophecies prove these 

facts to have been predicted, that the natural Israel 

has failed to obtain that which they sought after, 

namely, the favor of God ; but the remnant accordmg 

to the election of grace have obtained it. By '* the 

election" is meant those chosen or selected out, 

because of their acceptance of the gospel. Those 

who resisted the gospel, became blinded as a result 



A COMMENTARY 19 1 

of their obstinacy. They refused to walk in the 
light until it ceased to shine for them. This is 
judicial blindness, but it is not arbitrarily imposed 
upon men, but results from their own misconduct. 

8. (According as it is written, God hath given them the 
spirit of slumber, eyes that they should not see, and ears that 
they should not hear;) unto this day, 

9. And David saith. Let their table be made a snare, and 
a trap, and a stumblingblock, and a recompense unto them : 

10. Let their eyes be darkened, that they may not see, and 
bow down their back alway. 

This state of darkness and slumber not only con- 
tinued until the time of the writing of this epistle, 
but continues up to the present day. The quotation 
in the 9th and loth verses is from the LXIXth Psalm, 
and is from the Greek translation of the Old Testa- 
ment, called the Septuagint version, because it was 
made by seventy Jews of Alexandria some time be- 
fore the Christian era. The New Testament writers 
always quote from this version. Our translation of 
the Old Testament is from the original Hebrew, and 
often varies considerably from the Septuagint. 
Psalm LXIX, 23, 23 reads : " Let their table become a 
snare before them ; and that which should have been 
for their welfare^ let it become a trap. Let their eyes 
be darkened, that they see not; and make their loins 
continually to shake." There is nothing said about 
their table becoming a stumblingblock and a recom- 



192 A COMMENTARY 

pense. No doubt this was in the Hebrew scriptures 
when the Greek translation was made. It is some- 
times, probably usually, explained, that tJic'ir table 
which is to be made a stumblingblock, is to be un- 
derstood to mean their temporal blessings, such as 
food and raiment, etc. Just how these temporal 
blessings are to become a snare or a stumblingblock, 
I do not clearly understand, and that meaning seems 
to me to be weak and inadequate. It is true that the 
word "table" might properly stand for temporal 
good, but is that the meaning here intended? Seek- 
ing a more spiritual meaning, it might be thought 
that the law given at Sinai might be referred to ; it 
is sometimes spoken of as " tables." But it is always 
in the plural number ; and besides the proper Greek 
word for the tables of the law is not here used. 
That word is " plakes," while the word here used 
is "trapeza." The former means "a flat surface, a 
tablet," while the latter means " a table, or the 
viands on a table, a bench, a counter, etc." It is 
said to be derived from "tetrapeza," "having four 
feet or legs " ; so a literal table, or by a figure of 
speech, the viands on the table, must be meant. 
Now Christ is said to be our passover, our bread, and 
so our meat and drink. Gospel salvation is often 
represented under the figure of a feast, a great sup- 
per. It is also called the water of life and salvation. 



A COMMENTARY 193 

Christ and the provisions of His gospel are then our 
table, and when we come to Him we are said to come 
to the Lord's table. Ours is a spiritual table, but not 
so that of the Jews. Their religion stood in meats 
and drinks and divers washings and carnal ordinances. 
And was it intended for their welfare.^ It certainly 
was. It was intended that these fleshly symbols 
should lead their minds up to spiritual conceptions, 
and prepare them for the reception of a spiritual re- 
ligion. But in the case of most of the Jews it failed 
of its purpose. 

" They rested in the outward law, 
Nor knew its deep design." 

Did the ceremonial law become a snare and a trap 
and a stumhlinghlock? Most assuredly it did. They 
learned to trust in works of obedience, and believed 
them to merit God's favor, and so could not be 
brought to accept the humbling doctrines of the cross, 
and of salvation by grace. But not only did a system of 
carnal ordinances prove a snare and a stumblingblock 
to the Jews, but having been through ignorance or 
design superimposed upon Christianity, they have 
proven a snare and a stumblingblock to Christians 
also. And in each case they have become a recom- 
pense; they are all of religion they have left. They 
do these things for the sake of doing them, and that 
13 



194 A COMMENTARY 

is the end of the matter; they have, and will have, 
no other reward. Their eyes are also darkened that 
they may not sec, and their back is always bowed 
down to carry this load which St. Peter declares is 
more than their fathers could bear. 

11. I say then, Have they stumbled that they should fall.? 
God forbid : but rather through their fall salvation is co7ne 
unto the Gentiles, for to provoke them to jealousy. 

That is, Is their fall irrevocable? Not at all. 
They have still the same opportunity as others have 
of mercy and favor. But the very thing that occa- 
sioned their stumbling, salvation by grace, free for 
all, made salvation accessible to the Gentiles, which 
may serve to provoke them to jealousy. We are not 
to suppose that if the Jews had generally accepted 
the gospel, that the Gentiles would have been 
excluded from its provisions ; nor that the Jews 
must fall to make room for the Gentiles ; salvation 
would have been extended to the Gentiles whether 
the Jews had fallen or not fallen. The apostolic 
commission shows that, as well as does the express 
design of Christ's coming. 

12. Now if the fall of them be the riches of the world, 
and the diminishing of them the riches of the Gentiles; how 
much more their fulness.? 

The apostle speaks in hyperbole here ; literally, 

their fall could enrich no one. It can be of no 

advantage to any one that another person is lost. But 



A COMMENTARY 195 

the thing that he stumbled at and fell over may be of 
great advantage to another person. And that is the 
meaning here. The doctrines of grace that the Jew 
stumbled at are of inestimable value to the Gentile, 
and to every human being, Jew or Gentile. And it 
would be still better if the Jew could be persuaded 
to accept those doctrines and be saved. 

13. For I speak to you Gentiles, inasmuch as I am the 
apostle of the Gentiles, I magnify mine office. 

14. If by any means I may provoke to emulation them 
xvhich are my flesh, and might save some of them. 

In all his writings the apostle Paul shows his sin- 
cere desire for the salvation of his kindred by avoid- 
ing as far as possible every occasion of offense to 
them, and by softening these 'truths so severe and 
shocking to their sensibilities. Though he was not 
sent to them, but to the Gentiles, yet he constantly 
shows his solicitude for their salvation. 

15. For if the casting away of them be the reconciling of 
the world, what shall the recijiving of them be but life from 
the dead ? 

It was necessary that their former relation to God 

should be repudiated m order that there should be a 

reconciling of the world, that of twain one new man 

might be made, so making peace. 

16. For if the firstfruit be holy, the lump is also holy. 
and if the root be holy, so are the branches. 

17. And if some of the branches be broken off, and thou, 
being a wild olive tree, wert graffed in among them, and 



196 A COMMENTARY 

with them partakest of the root and fatness of the olive 
tree ; 

18. Boast not against the branches. But if thou boast, 
thou bearest not the root, but the root thee. 

19. Thou wilt say then, The branches were broken ofT, 
that I might be grafifed in. 

20. Well ; because of unbelief they were broken off, and 
thou standest by faith. Be not highminded, but fear: 

21. For if God spared not the natural branches, take heed 
lest he also spare not thee. 

The figure of the olive tree and its branches is 
often used to prove the identity of the Abrahamic 
Church with the Church of Christ. But I am con- 
vinced that this is an unwarranted use of the parable. 
It is claimed that the two institutions are the same 
with only a change of ordinances. This position is 
untenable, and the passage under consideration will 
not assist in the defence of it. The emblematic 
olive tree can represent neither the Abrahamic Church 
nor the Church of Christ. For ist, the natural 
branches are said to have been broken off from this 
olive tree because of unbelief. Now this cannot 
apply to the Abrahamic Church, because faith was 
never a condition of membership in that church ; at 
no time did more than a small remnant of them have 
faith, yet the unbelieving ones were equally members 
of it. Then 2nd, these unbelieving Jews were not 
severed from the Abrahamic Church. It may be true 
that the tree which would represent that church, died, 



A COMMENTARY 1 97 

but its branches died with it. 3rd. It cannot repre- 
sent the Church of Christ, as those unbeHeving Jews 
were not broken off from it, as they were never in 
it- If then the figurative olive tree can represent 
neither of these churches, how can it prove their 
identity ? 

22. Behold therefore the goodness and severity of God: on 
them which fell, severity; but toward thee, goodness, if thou 
continue in his goodness : otherwise thou also shalt be cut off. 

23. And they also, if they abide not still in unbelief, shall 
be graffed in : for God is able to graff them in again. 

The olive tree from which they had been broken off, 
and into which they could again be grafted, and into 
which the Gentiles had been grafted, represents not 
any special organism, but the privilege of being re- 
lated to God as His people or Church. The Jews by 
unbelief lost this privilege, they did not lose member- 
ship in the organism with which they w^ere connected. 
The Gentiles by faith obtained this privilege which 
they held by faith, and were liable to lose. This priv- 
ilege the Jews could again obtain by repentance and 
faith, as their fall was not necessarily final. 

24. For if thou wert cut out of the olive tree which is wild 
by nature, and wert grafted contrary to nature into a good olive 
tree : how much more shall these, which be the natural brayiches, 
be graff ed into their own olive tree ? 

The wild olive tree represents no organism as the 

Gentiles were not organized, but it should if the tame 

olive tree stood for one. The wild olive tree repre- 



198 A COMMENTARY 

sents the uncultivated, uncared for condition of the 
Gentiles in contrast with the state of discipline and 
culture of the Jews. The Gentiles were grafted con- 
trary to nature, in that naturally we graft good stock 
upon bad, and here bad is grafted upon good. In 
nature it is the tree we would improve, here it is the 
graft. In nature the graft retains its own qualities 
and is not changed by the nature of the stock upon 
which it is grafted ; here the graft is changed into 
the nature of the tree. This is all therefore contrary 
to nature. The Jews were the natural branches be- 
cause they had always enjoyed the privilege of filial 
relation to God, though in an outward sense only. 
So to be reckoned among God's people was their 
natural condition. 

25. For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant 
of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits ; 
that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness 
of the Gentiles be come in. 

By a mystciy is meant a fact or doctrine which has 
not been clearly revealed, but has remained concealed 
or covered. The fact of the final apostasy of a large 
part of the Jewish nation is one of these partially 
concealed truths. The part of the Israelites to whom 
blindness has happeiied is the large majority of the 
nation. The fulness of the Gentiles signifies the whole 
number of them who will be saved. This is not a 



A COMMENTARY ,199 

large proportion of them either. The notion that the 
whole world is to be converted is unscriptural and 
contradicted by the plainest statements of Holy Writ. 
That this blindness of the Jewish people is ever to 
be removed during the Christian age, is not here 
stated and cannot be logically inferred. It is but a 
surmise at best, and can make no demands upon our 
credulity. If it takes place at all it must be in the 
next age, and we have reason to believe that when 
the Lord Jesus leaves Heaven and comes to earth His 
Mediatorship ceases, and that the number of His elect 
is complete. 

26. And so all Israel shall be saved : as it is written, There 
shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away 
ungodliness from Jacob : 

27. For this is my covenant unto them, when I shall take 
away their sins. 

I unhesitatingly affirm that the above statement is 

generally misunderstood. It is commonly supposed to 

foretell the conversion and restoration of the Jewish 

nation. The statement embodies a conclusion drawn 

from the preceding argument. But what is the 

previous argument? It is in reply to an objection 

supposed to be urged by the Jews, that if they, or a 

large part of them, are rejected that God's promise 

to His people will fail. It is urged in reply that the 

promise was not made to all the seed of Abraham, 

but was confined to Isaac alone. So they could not 



200 A COMMENTARY 

claim it as being of the seed of Abraham. Nor 
could they claim the promise as the descendants of 
Jacob or Israel, for *' they are not all Israel who are 
of Israel." That is, none but "the children of 
promise were counted for the seed"; or as the 
apostle says in another place, "they who are of faith 
are blessed with faithful Abraham." He quotes from 
the prophets to show how the facts of history and 
the predictions of seers coincide with this view of the 
case. And then he is supposed to draw his conclu- 
sion by ignoring and overthrowing his argument, 
and by declaring that, after all, all the natural seed 
of Abraham through Isaac and Jacob shall eventually 
be saved. If so, why did he not say so in the first 
place and save time and labor? That would have 
answered the objector at once. Such a conclusion 
may satisfy some persons, but I am not yet ready to 
write down the apostle as a dunce. I am fully con- 
vinced that St. Paul knew what he was writing 
about, and was able to draw a logical conclusion. 
And what would be a logical conclusion from the 
arguments above recited? It would be that although 
the natural Jews are generally though not universally 
rejected, yet the promise of God will not fail; that 
the Israel to whom the promise was made will be 
saved ; that this is spiritual Israel composed of both 
Jew and Gentile, the children of the promise who 



A COMMENTARY 20I 

are counted for the seed. And this is the conclusion 
here drawn, without a doubt. All Israel shall be 
saved^ without an exception; the promise shall not 
fail in one instance, not in one individual case. 
If the statement is applied to the natural seed of 
Abraham it is far from being true. Taken in its 
obvious sense it would mean the salvation of every 
literal Jew. But it may be objected that the expres- 
sion "all Israel" is to be understood in a sense not 
so literal ; that the Jews will be saved generally 
though not universally. But if this were admitted 
even then it would not meet the case. A small 
remnant was saved in the beginning ; a smaller 
remnant has been saved since. Probably the whole 
number in nearly two thousand years would not 
amount to one generation of the Jews. But there 
have been nearly sixty generations of Jews since this 
epistle was written. If the Deliverer were to come 
and save the present generation without exception, 
the saved Jews would amount to but a small fraction 
of the whole number. If natural Israel is meant, it 
must include all who now live, all who have lived, 
and all who shall live, or the promise fails. With 
the most liberal interpretation it must include a large 
majority of all these. But this is contrary to all 
known facts; therefore it is a false interpretation. 
To spiritual Israel the declaration applies perfectly ; 



202 A COMMENTARY 

it fits the case and therefore it is obviously the mean- 
ing of the passage. The Deliverer here spoken of 
is, no doubt, the Lord Jesus. The quotation is from 
Isaiah LIX and reads in our version, " The Redeemer 
shall come to Zion, and to them that turn away from 
transgression in Jacob." The apostle quotes from the 
Septuagint. The difference is not material. There 
is nothing to show that any other appearing is 
referred to than the one already made. The covenant 
also is the New Covenant, in which it is said, " I will 
be merciful to their unrighteousness and their sins 
and their iniquities will I remember no more." The 
jfacob here mentioned is, no doubt, spiritual Israel. 
This covenant is an everlasting one and includes both 
Jew and Gentile believers, and it is never to be 
superseded by any other one. In it there is no 
promise of the salvation of either all the Jews or of 
all the Gentiles, but of all believers only. 

28. As concerninj^ the gospel, they arc enemies for your 
sakes : but as touching the election, t/iey are beloved for the 
fathers' sakes. 

They, that is, the Jews in general, were enemies 
of the gospel because the Gentiles were admitted to 
covenant relation with God on the same terms with 
themselves. The election, or the elect remnant, ivere 
beloved for the fathers' sakes. The Lord showed the 
Jews special consideration in the preaching of the 



A COMMENTARY 203 

gospel, a consideration which they did not always 
deserve. In the proclamation of the gospel they were 
made the first offer of salvation. This was meant as 
a special favor to them who should believe, and so 
they are said to be beloved for the fathers' sakes, as 
it was because of their faithful ancestors, and not be- 
cause of any deserving in them that these special 
favors were shown. If the Lord showed special favor 
to the degenerate offspring of the Jewish patriarchs, 
who were of faith, is it presumption to believe that 
God will deal with equal favor with the children of faith- 
ful parents now? The sin of the parents falls upon 
the third and fourth generation of their posterity ; 
will not His mercy extend even farther? 

29. For the gifts and calling of God are without repent- 
ance. 

That is, God does not change His mind concerning 
His gifts nor callings ; nor has He changed His mind 
concerning the case under consideration; but He is 
calling and bestowing spiritual blessings upon those 
whom He originally intended as the beneficiaries. 
The disappointed ones have simply misunderstood 
Him. 

30. For as ye in times past have not believed God, yet 
have now obtained mercy through their unbelief : 

31. Even so have these also now not believed, that through 
your mercy they also may obtain mercy. 



204 A COMMENTARY 

Though the apostle is addressing Gentile Christians, 
his statements are intended for the benefit of the 
Jews, and he puts their case in the most favorable 
light, that he may placate them and if possible save 
some of them. His language might appear to make 
the salvation of the Jews of more importance than 
that of the Gentiles. As the apostle to the Gentiles, 
St. Paul seems to think that he may more safely ap- 
pear to undervalue them than another could do. 
Others might seem to do it from prejudice, but he 
cannot be thus suspected. Thus he 7nagnijies his 
office. But in reality, as the apostle declares in an- 
other place, between Jew and Gentile " there is no 
difference ; for the same God over all is rich unto all 
that call upon Him." 

32. For God hath concluded them all in unbelief, that he 
might have mercy upon all. 

There can be no mercy extended to men who can 
merit favor. It is the sinner, one who comes short 
of what is expected of him, that needs mercy. So 
long as the Jews justified themselves they felt no 
need of mercy. The destruction of their false trust 
and their false hope was an absolutely essential pre- 
liminary to their salvation. 

33. O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and 
knowledge of God! how unsearchable are his judgments, and 
his ways past finding out ! 



A COMMENTARY 205 

34. For who hath known the mind of the Lord? or who 
hath been his counsellor? 

35. Or who hath first given to him, and it shall be recom- 
pensed unto him again ? 

36. For of him, and through him, and to him, are all 
things: to whom be glorj forever. Amen. 

The contemplation of the glorious truths of the 
gospel filled the mind of the apostle with wonder 
and praise. So will they affect our minds, when we 
apprehend them. 



General Observations. 

The opinion that the scriptures teach the final 
conversion and restoration of the Jews is quite 
prevalent, if not almost universal. It is easy to see 
how the prophecies of the Old Testament may be 
thus misunderstood and misapplied. But there is 
nothing in the New Testament that can be supposed 
to teach this opinion, unless it be the last three 
chapters which we have been considering. I think 
that I have conclusively shown that they do not so 
teach. I object to this theory for several reasons. 
First, it makes God appear partial toward one nation 
as though it was better or more deserving than the 
others. The Jews were repeatedly informed that 
they were not chosen by God for His peculiar People 
because of any such superiority. The reasons for 



2o6 A COMMENTARY 

God's dealings with the Jews are often overlooked 
or misunderstood. Some of these reasons I will 
mention here. There was great danger, and in fact 
a practical certainty, that the whole world, after the 
flood, would relapse into idolatry and paganism, and 
thus a knowledge of the true God would be entirely 
lost. There was also a promise of a coming Messiah 
that would also be forgotten. In order that a knowl- 
edge of Jehovah might be preserved, and that an 
expectancy of a Redeemer might be fostered ; and in 
order that a depository for Divine revelation might 
be provided, and that a people might be prepared 
for the reception of the Savior of mankind ; it was 
necessary that a people should be selected for these 
purposes, and put under special and stringent regula- 
tions, to keep them separate from the other nations. 
To this end they must be impressed with the idea 
that they were peculiarly holy, and that association 
with the heathen was defiling. Wonderful manifes- 
tations of Divine power on their behalf must be 
manifested from time to time, to keep alive their 
religious zeal, and to confirm them in the belief that 
they were God's peculiar charge. They must be 
made as unlike other people as possible. All this 
was done, not for their sakes alone, but for the 
good of all nations: God saw in the seed of Shem 
peculiar religious susceptibilities, and from among 



A COMMENTARY 207 

them Abram was chosen as best fitted for God's 
purposes. Abram, or as he was renamed, Abraham 
was an exceptional character, the most perfect, 
probably, in the history of the Old Testament ; but 
few of his descendants inherited his peculiar virtues, but 
they inherited those qualities needed for God's purpose. 
It is true that the discipline to which the Jews were 
subjected, and the misunderstanding on their part of 
its purpose, had bad effect upon their character. 
They became proud and arrogant, contemptuous of 
others, and full of self-importance and self -righteousness. 
But this was unavoidable in fallen human nature. 
And notwithstanding the heroic treatment given 
them it was with difficulty that the desired end was 
secured. Out of eleven tribes and two half tribes, 
but three tribes, or at least a large part of three, 
were left at Christ's advent; the other ten having 
sunk into idolatry, and having been rejected as unfit 
for God's purpose, long before the coming of the 
Messiah, were scattered among the nations and en- 
tirely lost. It is probable that the address in The 
General Epistle of James, to the twelve tribes scat- 
tered abroad, referred to Spiritual Israel. It is the 
same as that of Peter, to the strangers scattered 
throughout Pontus, etc. This calling of the posterity 
of Abraham was not because of any partiality to 
them, but for the general good; and when God's pur- 



2o8 A COMMENTARY 

pose was accomplished they sank back again into the 
general mass ; in Christ Jesus every distinction van- 
ishes. The distinction was temporary and to a great 
extent vicarious ; now the Lord knows no difference 
between Jew and Gentile. 

Secondly. My second objection to the theory of 
the final restoration of the Jews, as Jews, is that it 
is a retrogression, a going backward, rather than a 
going forward. Christ came to break down the 
middle wall of partition between Jew and Gentile, 
and to make of twain one new man, so making 
peace. The restoration of the Jews as a nation 
would be a rebuilding of that middle wall, and an 
emphasizing of differences that Christ came to destroy. 
Christ spoke of bringing in other sheep not of the 
Jewish fold, that there might be one fold, one 
shepherd ; this would be making two folds again, 
with but one shepherd. St. Paul declares that if he 
builded again the things which he had destroyed, he 
would make himself a transgressor. Yet this theory 
would represent Christ as coming to destroy things 
and then to build them again. 

Thirdly. My third objection to this theory is 
that it is opposed to the whole genius and spirit of 
Christianity. It is generally thought that the Jews 
will be gathered together and their temple service 
re-established. To what end? These things that 



A COMMENTARY 209 

could be shaken were long ago destroyed, that the 
things only that cannot be shaken, those which are 
eternal, may remain. I have not so learned Christ. 
Such transactions would be puerile, mere child's 
play. Christianity leads men up from the material 
and the symbolical to the spiritual and real, to the 
eternal, but it does not lead them back again. As well 
might we suppose that the University graduate would 
be put back into the primer when beginning a post- 
graduate course. The idea is absurd and fantastical. 
What a low view of Christianity do such teachings 
indicate ! They are revolting to a spiritual mind. 
For these reasons I must reject the theory commonly 
taught, as unscriptural and unreasonable. 
H 



CHAPTER XII. 

I. I beseech you therefore, brethren, bj the mercies of 
God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, ac- 
ceptable unto God, xvliich is your reasonable service. 

Here begins the application of the principles con- 
tained in the former chapters of this epistle, and ex- 
hortations to practical godliness. It is not a conclusion 
from the preceding chapter so much as from the 
whole of the epistle, so far written. It is by the 
9nercics of God that the brethren are exhorted to 
obedience. Fear is never appealed to as a motive to 
Christian obedience. Christians possess a love that 
casts out fear. It is by a sense of God's mercy and 
goodness to us that we are moved to give ourselves 
without reserve to Him. A sense of God's magna- 
nimity makes us ashamed of our selfishness. Since 
Christ has given Himself for us, we are constrained 
to abandon ourselves to Him. A sense of His mighty 
love makes us ashamed of self-seeking, and we long 
to show our appreciation of it by a full surrender of 
ourselves to Him. It is God's goodness that moves 
us, not His wrath. 

(2IO) 



A COMMENTARY 211 

We are exhorted to present our bodies a living 
sacrifice. This living sacrifice is contrasted with the 
sacrifices under the law, which were all dead. A 
sacrifice is something devoted to God. We are then 
to devote our bodies to God's service and glory. 
Our members are to be " instruments of righteousness 
unto holiness." We are to carry out in our conduct, 
and in our speech, the principle of holiness. The 
idea that our bodies serve the devil, while our 
spirits serve the Lord, is unscriptural and unreason- 
able. Our bodies are declared to be holy, the temples 
of the Holy Spirit, and not "sinful flesh" as some 
would represent them. All this is declared to be our 
reasonable service. And who can show otherwise } 
Since we are not our own, but bought with a price, 
it is most reasonable that all our ransomed powers 
should be devoted to the service of our Redeemer. 
There is nothing more reasonable to a rational mind 
than the requirements of Christ's religion. They ap- 
pear unreasonable to those only who misunderstand 
them. Men have taught many unreasonable things in 
the name of Christ, but He is not responsible for them. 

There are some who think they see in this verse an 
exhortation to a " second work," or a higher state of 
grace. I see no evidence of such a thing, and I am 
persuaded that no such thought was in the writer's 
mind. 



212 A COMMENTARY 

2. And be not conformed to this world : but be ye trans- 
formed by the renewinp^ of your mind, that ye may prove what 
is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God. 

The world to which we are not to be conformed, 
is the present order, or system of things, now on the 
earth. This system is in rebellion against God, and 
we cannot be in conformity with it, or even with its 
friends, without becoming God's enemies. The bound- 
aries of worldly conformity are not generally under- 
stood or recognized. The term includes much more 
than is generally supposed. (See my sermon on The 
Love of the World in "Christian Citizenship and 
other sermons.") The child of God is unlike the world 
in his spirit, his motives, his desires, his purposes, and 
consequently in his conduct. He has different affec- 
tions and different affinities. He is as unlike worldly 
men as he can well be and remain human. But 
worldly conformity is unavoidable unless we become 
transformed by the renewing of our mind. It is in 
vain that we adopt some peculiar garb, some eccen- 
tricity in the cut or color of our dress, or some oddity 
of speech ; without this heavenly renewing we remain 
of the world in spite of all works. This renewing 
is the work of the Holy Spirit, and by it we are 
transformed into heavenly-minded men and women ; 
our affinities and affiliations are with those persons and 
things which are above. Such transformed persons 
ardently sing, 



A COMMENTARY 213 

** Earthly joys no longer please us; 

Here we would renounce them all; 
Find our only rest in Jesus, 

Him our Lord and Master call. 
Faith our languid spirits cheering, 

Points to brighter worlds above; 
Bids us long for His appearing — 

Bids us triumph in His love." 

Being thus transformed we are enabled to prove by 
a blest experience what is the will of God concern- 
ing us ; the good^ the acceptable^ the perfect^ will of 
God. He will " fulfil in us all the good pleasure of 
his goodness, and the work of faith with power." 
Without this renewal we will prove only our own 
evil, foolish, and preverse will. The apostle, no 
doubt, uses words advisedly. To prove the perfect 
will of God, must mean fully to measure up to God's 
ideal. This, men under the law, could not do, and 
provision had to be made for the flesh, an allowance 
for failure, a failure which was inevitable. Many 
things were thus allowed because of the hardness of 
their hearts. Not so now ; no provision is to be made 
for the flesh, but we may find an answer to the prayer 
that God's will may be done by us on earth as it is 
done in heaven. 

3. For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every 
man that is among you, not to think of hiinself more highly 
than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as 
God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith. 



2 14 A COMMENTARY 

There arc few things that liave a greater tendency 
to produce disorder and confusion in a congregation 
than a failure to observe this caution. It is very- 
salutary as applied in a general sense, against hold- 
ing too high an opinion of ourselves , but salvation 
which produces humility counteracts this propensity. 
The apostle here refers particularly to the danger of 
mistaking our office in the body of Christ, the Church. 
We are liable to imagine ourselves called to a higher 
work than is really assigned to us in (jod's plan. 
This will breed envy, debate, and confusion ; for tiiere 
can be no harmony in the labors and efforts of the 
body under such conditions. In order that we may 
not make any mistake in this matter we must use 
the right measure on ourselves. If we estimate our- 
selves from a natural standpoint of our supposed in- 
tellectual abilities, or of our relative importance in 
the community, we will probably get into error. We 
must use the measure which God will provide, here 
called tJic 7ncasurc of faith. The word "metron" 
here rendered "measure" signifies a rule or measure 
by, or with, which to measure things. When God 
deals to us this measure lie with it gives mental so- 
briety that enables us to see tilings as they are in 
His sight, in their proper proportions; and thus 
will we be enabled to find our proper places 'n\ the 
Church. 



A. COMMENTARY 215 

4. For as we have many members in one body, and all 
members have not the same office : 

5. So we, being many, are one body in Christ, and every 
one members one of another. 

The representation of the Church of Christ under 
the figure of a human body is common in the New 
Testament epistles, and it is a very instructive em- 
blem. As in the body the members have different 
offices, so it is in the Church ; and it is important that 
each member should perform its proper function. By 
so doing it contributes to the growth and usefulness 
of the body. Otherwise it becomes a hindrance and 
an excrescence. The members are mutually depend- 
ent upon one another. Our translators have violated 
the rules of syntax in their rendering of the last clause 
of the fifth verse. 

6. Having then gifts differing according to the grace that 
is given to us, whether prophecy, let us prophesy according 
to the proportion of faith; 

God places the members in the spiritual body of 
Christ as it pleaseth Him, and He divides the differ- 
ing gifts to the members for the mutual benefit of all. 
This fact was once recognized, but is now generally 
disregarded by the various sects. Offices are filled 
by majority vote instead of Divine appointment. 
The gift of prophecy^ while sometimes meaning the 
foretelling of future events, is generally synonymous 
with preaching. To preach is, properly speaking, 



2i6 A COMMENTARY 

to proclaim or announce. '* As ye go, preach, saying. 
The kingdom of heaven is at hand." To proclaim 
the news of salvation provided for lost men, and to 
announce the conditions upon w^hich that salvation 
may be obtained is the principal w^ork of the gospel 
preacher. His message then is mostly to the uncon- 
verted. His office is therefore properly mentioned 
first. 

7. Or ministry, let us wait on our ministering: or he 
that teacheth, on teaching; 

The Greek vs^ord (diakonian) here rendered ''min- 
istry" signifies "ministry, service, a waiting upon, 
etc.," and is the word from which the English word 
"deacon" is derived. But the first deacons were 
appointed to look after temporal things, and it is 
probable that the apostle here refers to ministry in 
spiritual things, as the context shows. It seems to 
me that it refers to the administering of spiritual 
comfort and consolation. Joseph was surnamed Bar- 
nabas, the son of consolation, because of his gift in 
this direction. The preaching brings men into dis- 
tress because of their sins, and then the minister is 
needed to advise and comfort. This is not the whole 
of his work as God's people often need his minis- 
trations. Teaching is another office and gift. Jesus, 
after commanding His apostles to preach to, and 
disciple the nations, says, "Teaching them to observe 



A COMMENTARY 217 

all things whatsoever I have commanded you." This 
gift has been almost extinct in the nominal church 
for a century past at least. There have been many 
preachers and ministers but few teachers. The result 
has been that while many have been brought to a 
profession of Christianity, and have received the con- 
solations of the gospel, they have usually stopped 
there and of consequence have soon lost what they 
had already gained. The teaching gift is of first 
importance in order that the church may be built up 
in holiness. The teaching gift has been undervalued 
until it has been lost, and the nominal church has 
continually lost ground in spirituality until preaching 
itself is less and less esteemed, and is in many 
instances but a minor part of religious service and 
worship. 

8. Or he that exhorteth, on exhortation: he that giveth, 
let him do it with simplicity; he that ruleth, with diligence; 
he that sheweth mercy, with cheerfulness. 

The office of exhorter is generally considered to be 
of less importance than the others here mentioned. 
Indeed most denominations ignore it altogether ; the 
Methodists and kindred sects recognize it as a distinct 
office, but it is generally not clearly defined. The 
exhorter is not supposed to confine himself to any 
special subject, but is allowed much latitude in his 
addresses. But a rambling discourse without theme 



2i8 A COMMENTARY 

or connection is not an exhortation. The exhorter 
has a distinct work to perform. His function is not 
to instruct, but to urge men to action ; to stir them 
up, to excite their zeal, and to encourage them to do 
their best. This is a work of much importance and 
the gift is a very useful one. 

The pastor of a church is generally supposed to 
fill all these offices ; but while some men may have 
all these gifts, this is not, and has not been, usually 
the case ; and without the Holy Spirit we can have 
none of them. 

It is to be expected that there will always be 
opportunity for him that giveth, as we are always to 
have the poor with us, in spite of the eiTorts being 
made by enthusiasts to abolish poverty. But in order 
that giving may be more blessed than receiving it 
must be done in the right manner. This requisite 
is simplicity. This signifies singleness, and refers to 
the motive in giving. This motive must be single or 
it is evil, as an eye that is not single, Jesus declares 
to be an evil eye. If I give simply for the glory of 
God in benefiting the recipient, well and good. But 
if I have any selfish or ulterior motive in giving I 
lose my reward and do an evil thing. What then 
must be said of those religionists who encourage men 
to give through pride and vainglory, and who make 
direct appeals to the selfish and ungodly propensities 



A COMMENTARY 219 

of human nature? Will the end sanctify the means, 
think you? 

The government of the Church of Christ is a theoc- 
racy ; Christ is the Head of the Church, possessing 
all authority, a measure of which He delegates to those 
whom He chooses and appoints as shepherds or pas- 
tors of His flock. These derive their authority direct 
from Christ and are responsible to Him alone. Be- 
lievers are the sole judges of any man's call to be a 
shepherd ; they are to accept him only so far as they 
recognize the Chief Shepherd speaking through him ; 
a stranger they must not follow. This may appear 
to worldly wisdom as the absence of all order, but it 
is the Divine order. As a rule, every man is a 
shepherd over his own spiritual children, not build- 
ing on another man's foundation. There is no system, 
probably, more adverse to spiritual growth among 
Christians, than an itinerant pastorate. While it is 
well calculated greatly to increase the number of con- 
verts, it is a failure otherwise. Mr. Wesley never 
made a greater mistake than when he originated that 
system. It is the duty of him that ruleth to watch 
over the souls of those in his charge as one that must 
give an account. He is to "look diligently lest any 
man fail of the grace of God." If he be careless and 
indolent the blood of souls will be found in his 
skirts. He is emphatically his brother's keeper. The 



2 20 A COMMENTARY 

writings of the apostle Paul give us a vivid concep- 
tion of the cares and anxieties, the hopes and fears, 
the joys and sorrows, of a shepherd of souls. How 
impressive are such statements as these: "Now do I 
live if ye stand fast in the Lord : Who is offended 
and I burn not?" "Though ye have ten thousand 
instructors in Christ, ye have not many fathers, for in 
Christ Jesus I have begotten you through the gospel :" 
"For we are glad when we are weak and ye are 
strong." These quotations show the intense interest 
taken by a true shepherd of souls in the welfare of 
his flock. 

To shew mercy grudgingly or sourly robs it of its 
pleasure, and makes it an injury to the recipient. 
Shakspere has well written, "The quality of mercy is 
not strained." We are not to assume a cheerfulness 
we do not feel, but we are to feel cheerful in show- 
ing mercy. There is nothing more in harmony with 
Christian character than to show mercy, as a Chris- 
tian is by nature a merciful man, because he feels his 
own need of mercy. 

9. Let love be without dissimulation. Abhor that which 
is evil; cleave to that which is good. 

With saints there must be no pretenses ; everything 

must be genuine. With men in general a show of 

good-will is quite common, while no such feeling 

exists. In fact, in the condition in which men are 



A COMMENTARY 221 

found naturally, human society would be impossible 
upon a basis of absolute sincerity. Social amenities 
require hypocrisy and deceit. But this is not true 
among genuine Christians. Their hearts being emptied 
of hatred and malice, and filled with love and good- 
will toward all, there is no need of pretense on their 
part. Flattery and the affectation of solicitude and 
affection, so pleasing to fallen human nature, are to 
them abominations which they will not practice. 
Real love does not end with words, but is seen in 
the conduct. Where it exists, the ideal of the poet 
is realized : 

" Friendship sweet and dear esteem 
In every action glow." 

The first influences of the Holy Spirit produce in 
our hearts an abhorrence of evil. Any supposed work 
of grace that is not accompanied by abhorrence of 
sin is a sham and a delusion. 

This is naturally followed by a desire after that 
which is good. In the true Christian, this state of 
abhorrence of evil, and of cleaving unto that which is 
good becomes a fixed one. 

lo. Be kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly 
love ; in honor preferring one another ; 

The relation of brethren and sisters in Christ is 
the most sacred one known to mankind. It is also 



222 A COMMENTARY 

the most intimate and perfect. The natural relations 
of blood and kindred are temporary ; this relation is 
to be everlasting. Jesus said, "Who is my mother, 
and who are my brethren ? He that doeth the will of 
my Father in heaven, the same is my mother and sister 
and brother." If this is true of Him, it is true also 
of all those whom He acknowledges as brethren. 
How strong and tender is that relation that will con- 
tinue forever! Unlike the natural relations, it is free 
from all taint of fleshly desire or selfish interest. It 
is not dependent upon natural affinity or mutual 
attractiveness. Natural affection is the result of 
instinct and environment ; this love is heavenly and 
Divine. Upon its continuance depends the existence 
of the Church of Christ ; if brotherly love fails, all is 
lost. 

To f refer each other in honor is easy to those who 
esteem others more than themselves. This is the 
inevitable result of real brotherly love. It removes 
the danger of envy and jealousy, and promotes har- 
mony and unity. 

II. Not slothful in business; fervent in spirit; serving the 
Lord ; 

Although salvation destroys those motives which 

usually prompt to industry and thrift, it does not 

encourage indolence or shiftlessness. It substitutes 

the desire to please God for a desire to get gain. 



A COMMENTARY 223 

I certainly should be as diligent in serving God as 
in serving myself. Strictly speaking, the believer 
does not work for a livelihood, but trusts God for 
that; He works because it is the will of God that 
he should do so. 

The notion that labor is necessarily detrimental to 
piety or zeal in God's service has no warrant in 
God's word. In the same connection in which dili- 
gence in business is enjoined, fervcjicy in spirit in 
God's service is also commanded. The apostle did not 
know nor suppose that one prevented the other. The 
mendicant friars of the Roman church have not gener- 
ally been examples of holy zeal. We may be both 
diligent in temporal affairs and fervent in spiritual 
concerns ; and we are not likely to be more fervent 
spiritually as a result of idleness, or slackness in tem- 
poral things. 

12. Rejoicing in hope; patient in tribulation; continuing 
instant in prayer; 

We are told of our Lord that it was because of 
the joy that was set before Him that he endured the 
cross despising the shame. It is hope that maketh 
us not ashamed. It is good for us often to dwell 
upon the joy set before us, and to rejoice in hope of 
the glory of God. Such rejoicing makes it more 
easy for us to be patient in tribulation. Tribulations 
we will have ; they are among the things promised 



2 24 A COMMENTARY 

US ; by means of them we learn patient obedience to 
God's will. 

The Greek word here rendered "continuing instant 
in," signifies " persisting in, persevering in, being 
constantly engaged in," and means either that we 
should hold on to the practice of praying to the end 
of life, or that we should persevere in our petitions 
until we obtain an answer; or it may mean both. 
But I think it means that we should insist on an 
answer to our prayers ; that we should pray and not 
faint. If we are drawn out in prayer for anything 
and do not receive an immediate answer, it is not 
because God is not ready to bestow the blessing, but 
because we do not sufficiently feel our need, and are 
therefore not enough in earnest. Herein is the need 
of instant or persevering prayer. It is not needed to 
move God, but to move us. Most prayers are made 
without expectation of an answer, but simply as a 
religious performance. This is not praying, in the 
proper sense, but saying prayers as the heathen do, 
thinking w^e may be heard for our much speaking. 

13. Distributing to the necessity of saints; given to hos- 
pitality. 

It is the bounden duty of the church to take care 
of its own poor. This duty does not give us a dis- 
pensation from the other duty of doing good to all 
men, but it is especially our duty to take care of poor 



A COMMENTARY 225 

saints. The proportion of those who need assistance 
is much smaller than it was nineteen hundred years 
ago. There are few cases of real necessity among 
those who love and serve God, and it is the imper- 
ative duty of their brethren to look after their wel- 
fare. A church that allows any of its members to 
become dependent upon the cold charity of the world 
has denied the faith and is worse than infidel. The 
professed Church of Christ that would do such a thing 
would permit the Lord Jesus Himself to die in an 
almshouse. The love that will not divide the last 
dollar with a brother in need, is not the love that is 
shed abroad in the heart by the Holy Spirit. 

Hospitality in ancient times, when inns and hos- 
telries were infrequent, was a much more obvious duty 
and virtue than now. But we are not excused from 
the exercise of hospitality, and especially toward 
brethren. Love prompts to this duty, and we are 
encouraged in its practice by being told that some 
anciently entertained angels unawares, who supposed 
themselves to be sheltering men only. A hospitable 
spirit certainly becomes a Christian, who confesses 
himself to be a stranger and a pilgrim. 

14. Bless them which persecute you : bless, and curse not. 

It seems here to be assumed or taken for granted that 
Christians will be persecuted, and we know that per- 
secutions are among the things promised those who 
15 



2 26 A COMMENTARY 

forsake all to follow Christ. John Wesley says upon 
this point, "But the persecution that attends all the 
children of God is that our Lord describes in the 
following words ' Blessed are ye, when men shall re- 
vile you, and persecute you (shall persecute by reviling 
you), and say all manner of evil against you falsely, 
for my sake.' This cannot fail; it is the very badge 
of our discipleship ; it is one of the seals of our call- 
ing ; it is a sure portion entailed upon all the chil- 
dren of God; if we have it not, we are bastards and 
not sons." (Wesley's Works, Vol. I, page 207.) 
The Christian's attitude toward his persecutors is that 
of the Lord Jesus toward His. It is not enough that 
he does not curse them, he must bless them; not in 
word only but from his heart. This is impossible to 
unsanctified human nature, and possible to those only 
who have the mind of Christ. 

15. Rejoice with them that do rejoice, and weep with them 
that weep. 

While it is true that in a general way Christians 

are pleased at the success and prosperity of others, 

and are grieved at their losses and afflictions, yet there 

are many occasions of rejoicing to worldly people in 

which they cannot join and with which they can have 

no sympathy. It is with their brethren that they are 

to rejoice and weep, as they can and ought always 

to be in sympathy with them ; since when one mem- 



A COMMENTARY 227 

ber of the body suffers all suffer with it, and when 
one is honored all rejoice ^vith it. Such is the unity 
of God's people. 

16. Be of the same mind one toward another. Mind 
not high things, but condescend to men of low estate. Be 
not wise in your own conceits. 

It is not enough that Christians should be of one 
spirit; it is also important that they should be of one 
mind, that they should see things alike, so that they 
may act in unison in the \vork of the Lord. In the 
present age this is generally given up as an impossi- 
bility. But it is not impossible among really spiritual 
men. When real saints mind the things that make 
for peace, the things that edify, they may avoid all 
differences and literally obey the injunction of the 
apostle. But to professors of the Christian religion 
in general this command can no more be kept than 
any of the others. 

The next paragraph is translated by Mr. Wesley 
in his "Notes on the New Testament," "Mind not 
high things but condescend to low things." The 
noun is understood, not expressed, in the original. 
It is, probably, "high men" and "low men" or 
"high things" and "low things." The thought 
probably includes both. The verb rendered "con- 
descend" signifies, literally, "to be carried, or 
dragged, away together with." Some suppose this to 



2 28 A COMMENTARY 

refer to the imprisonment of God's people. I would 
render it, "Mind not high things, but be in agree- 
ment with common things." Common things are 
good enough for pilgrims and sojourners. Christians 
have renounced the vain pomp and glory of this 
world. They can have no desire for things grand or 
fine. They do not wish to live in palaces or to sur- 
round themselves with costly works of art. They 
are a plain people and ordinary things become them. 
To be exalted above their fellows in material com- 
forts and luxuries would be to them a shame and a 
disgrace. 

To be wise in oui' own conceits is a plain proof of 
folly. Solomon declares that, "The fool is wiser in 
his own conceit than seven men that can render a 
reason." This is a very unlovely trait of character, 
and it is encouraged by ignorance. Love is the only 
known cure for this folly ; it is not puffed up. It 
takes the conceit out of us and gives us humble views 
of ourselves and our attainments. The rebuffs and 
humiliations which the self-conceited endure will not 
cure them, and these experiences only prove the truth 
of another saying of Solomon, "Though thou bray 
a fool in a mortar, among wheat with a pestle, yet 
will not his foolishness depart from him.'' 

17. Recompense to no man evil for evil. Provide things 
honest in the sight of all men. 



A COMMENTARY 229 

To recompense evil for evil is natural to all men ; 
to render good for evil, to love our enemies, is pos- 
sible to those only who have been made partakers of 
the Divine nature. By so doing we show ourselves 
to be the children of our Father in heaven. 

Honesty in temporal affairs is but a heathen virtue, 
at best, and it is not to be supposed that a Christian 
would come short of it. To be remiss in these mat- 
ters is plain proof of the absence of saving grace, 
though strict honesty and integrity may be practiced 
without salvation. Christians should avoid debt so 
far as practicable, and especially the " taking up of 
goods without the probability of paying for them." 
If love prompts our conduct we will not go far 
wrong in these matters. 

18. If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peace- 
ably with all men. 

The child of God is a lover of peace, and quar- 
relling and contention are foreign to his nature. But 
as the apostle intimates, it is not always possible for 
him to live in peace. When he is for peace his ene- 
mies are for war. We may not always be able to 
get along quietly with "unreasonable and wicked 
men." But if there be trouble of this kind we must 
be sure that it is not our fault ; the hindrance to peace 
must not lie in us. We have much reason to hope 
for the fulfilment of the scripture, " If a man's ways 



230 A COMMENTARY 

please the Lord, He will cause even his enemies to 
be at peace with him." 

19. Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give 
place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will 
repay, saith the Lord. 

This injunction is plain and easy to be understood. 
Some of the reasons for it are also quite obvious. 
It is not because vengeance is wrong in itself, or 
contrary to love, that it is forbidden us, since God 
hath declared, " I will repay." One reason, no doubt, 
why God has reserved vengeance to Himself is that 
it would be dangerous to us to take it. In our 
imperfect state it would be difficult for us to take 
vengeance without producing in us ill-will, and tem- 
pers contrary to love. Besides we are not competent 
judges in the matter, as to time, extent, etc. So 
God claims vengeance as belonging to His preroga- 
tive, and we are usurpers when we presume to claim 
the right to take it. Then again we have not the 
power to requite others as they deserve, if we had 
the right. Hence to preserve order, and to prevent 
confusion in the moral universe, God Himself will at- 
tend to the matter of inflicting pimishment, and will 
thus insure the execution of strict and impartial justice. 

On the contrary, we are to give place to wrath ; 
not our own wrath, but to that of our adversary. 
We are to yield to the wrath we cannot mitigate 



A COMMENTARY 231 

with a soft answer, and give it room by getting 
away from it. To do this, takes great moral courage, 
as it has the appearance of cowardice ; but the right 
to run is one secured to us. "If they persecute you 
in one city, flee ye to another." We wrestle not 
against flesh and blood. But we are commanded to 
give no place to the devil, but to resist him steadfast 
in the faith. 

20. Therefore if thine enemy hunger, feed him ; if he 
thirst, give him drink : for in so doing thou shalt heap coals 
of fire on his head. 

The requirement to love our enemies is peculiar to 
Christianity. To the Jew it was said, "Thou shalt 
love thy neighbor, and hate thine enemy." But Christ 
commands, "Love your enemies." To do this is a 
proof of our sonship, as none but the sons of God 
are able to do so. But if we lack this distinguishing 
mark of God's children, how much better are we 
than the publicans, or common sinners.'* Nor must 
we perform these outward acts of ministry simply 
because they are commanded, but from a principle of 
love ; a love that spontaneously flows from the love 
of God shed abroad in our hearts. We will feel no 
desire to heap coals of fire on the heads of our 
enemies, though this may be the result of our con- 
duct toward them. If this should be our motive it 
would probably fail of producing the desired result. 



232 A COMMENTARY 

21. Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good. 

Without the grace of God, evil will overcome us. 
The attempt is being constantly made. The resistance 
to evil is a large part of Christian vs^arfare. We are 
assaulted from every quarter, and have need of all 
our armor. But we need not be vanquished. If we 
are overcome of evil it is our own fault. God's grace 
is sufficient to make us to stand, if we avail our- 
selves of it. The prevailing notion that we must 
yield to evil, and thus sin against God, is wholly 
unscriptural. 

On the contrary, we may overcome evil; but we 
are not to do it with carnal weapons. " The weapons 
of our warfare are not carnal." We cannot " do evil 
that good may come." We must overcome evil with 
good. Goodness is our only weapon against evil. 
It is God's weapon. By means of goodness, God 
endeavors to subdue rebellious hearts. If this means 
fails, none can succeed. The man who is proof 
.against the goodness of God is incorrigible, and his 
condition is hopeless. 

General Observations. 

The twelfth chapter of Romans contains more 
injunctions to practical godliness than any other 
chapter in the epistolary scriptures. In this respect 



A COMMENTARY 233 

it resembles the Sermon on the Mount. Distinction 
is often made between doctrinal and practical preach- 
ing, or, to speak more precisely, dogmatic and 
practical preaching, and one is often recommended 
as preferable to the other. Doctrine, or dogma, 
is often thought to be dry and uninteresting, and is 
sometimes supposed to be unprofitable. But there is 
no need that Christian doctrine should be uninterest- 
ing. It is true that metaphysical speculations about 
doctrine are dry to the average man, but that is not 
doctrine. A large part of the epistles is doctrinal as 
distinguished from practical, and the practical is 
based upon the doctrinal. This chapter begins with 
"therefore," and consists consequently of conclusions 
drawn from what precedes it. Practice must be 
based upon doctrine. The more clearly the doctrines 
are presented, the more plainly will the practical 
duties appear. What is called practical preaching is 
often made offensive by a scolding spirit. This is 
wrong, and foolish also, as it fails of the desired 
end. God's children do not need scolding, though 
they need plain dealing; and unsaved people, though 
bearing the Christian name, cannot l5e scolded unto 
holy living. In such cases there is always something 
more or less that is personal entering into the 
preacher's motives, which vitiates all his efforts to do 
good. 



CHAPTER XIII. 

I. Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For 
there is no power but of God : the powers that be are ordained 
of God. 

The duty of Christians to be subject to the present 
existing civil governments is here plainly set forth. 
In fact, the duty of subjection is the only one that 
is enjoined upon them toward these governments ; 
they owe them nothing further. And even this 
requirement has its limitations. The apostles laid 
down the principle that our duty to God was para- 
mount to our duty to man. When, therefore, human 
authorities require us to disobey God, and we must 
choose between the two powers, we must obey the 
paramount authority, and patiently take the conse- 
quences. The statement that the pozuers that be are 
ordained of God, has not the full force that is usually 
ascribed to it. The fact that God instituted civil 
government among men is undeniable ; but that He 
authorizes existing governments remains to be proven. 
I understand the scriptures to teach otherwise ; that 
these governments exist because men will not recog- 
nize the rightful ruler, the Lord Jesus Christ. It is 
(234) 



A COMMENTARY 235 

because they say, " we will not have this man to rule 
over us," that these governments are needed. But 
since they will not have Christ's rule, they must 
have some other authority to preserve order in the 
earth. But, objects some one, " Are not these 
governments ordained of God? " The Greek word 
^'' tetagmenai'^'' here rendered "ordained," is from a 
verb signifying to arrange, station, set in order, etc. 
It is a military term from which our English word 
"tactics" is derived. The apostle simply asserts 
that human governments are arranged or set in order 
by God. God overrules in the governments of the 
world. Consequently, whatever governments exist, 
do so by His permission, and are according to His 
order or plan. He "guides the whirlwind and 
directs the storm," though He does not originate 
them. 

2. Whosoever therefore resisteth the power, resisteth the 
ordinance of God : and they that resist shall receive to them- 
selves damnation. 

We are to understand from this that as God over- 
rules in the governments of the world, we are to ac- 
cept the present arrangement in human affairs as 
God's order or plan, and to submit to it without 
complaint. Governments may be oppressive or tyr- 
annous, but Christians are forbidden to resist them, 
but are required to accept them as God's will toward 



236 A COMMENTARY 

them. To resist or oppose existing governments is to 
resist the order of God, and will involve men in 
condemnation. We may refuse obedience to demands 
requiring disobedience to God, but must meekly ac- 
cept the results of such disobedience. But no Chris- 
tian can innocently engage in any insurrection or 
rebellion against any form of government however 
oppressive it may be. It is not the Christian's busi- 
ness to reform human governments, but to submit to 
them. That form of Christianity, therefore, which 
encourages men in rebellion or insurrection against 
any goverment must be a false religion. The govern- 
ment of the Roman Empire, under the Caesars was 
tyrannical and oppressive. Some of those emperors 
were monsters of cruelty and lust, yet it was to this 
tyranny to which the apostle forbids resistance. If 
it was unlawful to resist a Tiberius or a Nero, whom 
would it be lawful to resist.? It may be asked how 
human governments are to be improved under such 
conditions. They never will be improved, and it is 
not in God's plan that they should be. They are to 
prove a complete and disastrous failure. 

3. For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to the 
evil. Wilt thou then not be, afraid of the power.? do that 
which is good, and thou shalt have praise of the same: 

The general intention of government is to restrain 
and punish evildoers; those who are law-abiding 



A COMMENTARY 237 

have nothing to fear. But it is impossible that any 
law made by man should bear equally upon all those 
subject to it, and it may prove oppressive where there 
is no such intention. Laws which are for the general 
good may prove to be great evils in individual in- 
stances. But in general, if we do good, we need not 
fear the laws. 

4. For he is the minister of God to thee for good. But 
if thou do that which is evil, be afraid; for he beareth not 
the sword in vain : for he is the minister of God, a revenger 
to execute wrath upon him that doeth evil. 

This was written of those pagan emperors who de- 
spised God and His religion. That they were God's 
ministers in any sense that would make Him respon- 
sible for their conduct it is perposterous to assert. 
Imagine the imperial fiddler as God's representative 
while Rome was burning, and the bodies of His peo- 
ple were being utilized as torches. Yet Nero was 
God's minister in the same sense as is any king or 
potentate who calls himself Christian. They reign 
not "by the grace of God," but simply by His per- 
mission. Nor is an elected ruler any more God's 
representative than one who rules by hereditary right. 
He represents only those who placed him in power. 
They are all His ministers, just the same as storms, 
earthquakes, and pestilences are. God uses them to 
accomplish His purposes as He did Pharaoh and 



238 A COMMENTARY 

Nebuchadnezzar. He makes use of governments that 
are in rebellion against Him to preserve a semblance 
of order in the w^orld, and to restrain and punish 
evildoers, and to protect those who do well. 

5. Wherefore ye must needs be subject, not only for wrath, 
but also for conscience sake. 

If any kind of order is to be maintained on the 
earth, God must either use these hostile powers, or 
must destroy them and substitute His own govern- 
ment. 

As He does not see fit as yet to make this change. 
His people must submit to His plan, and yield obe- 
dience to these hostile governments; not simply because 
they must and because they are afraid of the punish- 
ments threatened in the statutes, but for conscience 
toward God. Thieir obedience should be voluntary 
and cheerful. 

6. For this cause pay ye tribute also : for they are God's 
ministers, attending continually upon this very thing. 

The emphasis which the apostle puts upon this 
matter would indicate that there were some persons 
in Rome who were inclined to refuse to pay tribute. 
The word here rendered "tribute" signifies "some- 
thing to be borne as a burden" ; and it was imposed 
by the Romans upon the nations which they con- 
quered. In Matt. XXII-17, where the question is 
asked concerning the lawfulness of paying tribute, a 



A COMMENTARY 239 

different Greek word is used, which signifies a poll- 
tax, and refers, probably, to the universal poll-tax 
imposed by Augustus. The most religious Jews were 
opposed to the payment of this tax, and there may 
have been some converted Jews who still had scruples 
upon this point. The language of the apostle is, 
therefore, most explicit, and they are taught to regard 
the matter as God's will toward them. As God per- 
mitted these subject nations to be conquered, He per- 
mitted them to be taxed for the benefit of the 
conquerors, and the tax-gatherers represented His will 
toward the vanquished peoples; and to resist them, 
was to resist the Divine order. 

7. Render therefore to all their dues : tribute to whom 
tribute is due; custom to whom custom ; fear to whom fear ; 
honor to whom honor. 

It matters nothing what the form of government 
may be, nor whether it is benign or oppressive, these 
duties remain the same. The child of God will pay 
all taxes and imposts honestly and cheerfully, trust- 
ing that his Father will supply the means for so do- 
ing. The burdens may seem heavy, but God wills 
that he should bear them. The character of the mag- 
istrate may not command respect, but the Christian 
pays honor to the office just the same. The court 
may not deal out equal and exact justice to all alike, 
but he obeys their writs, and so far as he can with 



240 A COMMENTARY 

a good conscience, he does what is required of him. 
It is superfluous to say that no Christian will conceal 
his property from the assessor or the customs officer, 
nor will he endeavor to have his property undervalued. 
He will let covetous men have a monopoly of such 
conduct. 

The notion that it is wrong for a Christian to rec- 
ognize any rank or title of honor is not countenanced 
here. If George Fox instead of the apostle Paul had 
been making a defence before Festus, the Roman 
magistrate, he would not have felt at liberty to call 
him " Most noble Festus." He would have called 
him " friend Festus." Good men sometimes have ex- 
treme or fanatical opinions. 

8. Owe no man anything, but to love one another : for he 
that loveth another hath fulfilled the law. 

We have in the first clause of this verse, in the 
original, a double negative intended to express em- 
phasis. We would read literally, " Owe no one noth- 
ing, if not to love one another." This double negative 
is not allowable in English syntax. The propriety 
and desirability of being out of debt is easily 
obvious. But this is not really a prohibition of all 
debt, but only of debt contrary to love. Tiie word 
rendered "owe" signifies to be under obligation of 
any kind, and it is manifestly impossible that we 
should live among our fellow-men and be under no 



A COMMENTARY 241 

kind of obligation to any of them. But we are re- 
quired to put ourselves under no kind of obligation 
that is contrary to the love of our neighbor. 

9. For this, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not 
kill, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, 
Thou shalt not covet; and if there he any other commandment, 
it is briefly comprehended in this saying, namely. Thou shalt 
love thy neighbor as thyself. 

10. Love worketh no ill to his neighbor : therefore love is 
the fulfilling of the law. 

The fact that love is the fuljilling of the lavj is of 
great importance, and one not generally recognized 
nor understood. Love does not fulfil the letter of 
the law, but the righteousness of it, as we are told 
in chapter VIII-4. It is true that the letter of the law 
must be fulfilled also, and Jesus declared that not one jot 
or tittle should pass from the law until all was fulfilled. 
This Jesus himself did, and became the end of the 
law to all believers. We are placed under a new 
commandment, the law of love. This law, according 
to promise, is written on our hearts, when the love 
of God is shed abroad there by the gift of the Holy 
Spirit, and we thus become partakers of the Divine 
nature. We are no longer judged by outward con- 
duct, but by our inward motives. If all our conduct 
springs from love to God and man, we fulfil all the 
law, notwithstanding a thousand mistakes and short- 
comings. If our conduct does not spring from love 
16 



242 A COMMENTARY 

it is offensive to God, however virtuous it may 
appear. 

11. And that, knowing the time, that now it is high time 
to awake out of sleep : for now is our salvation nearer than 
when we believed. 

We have no time for slumber, for inaction, for 
indifference ; for our deliverance by death, or by the 
coming of the Lord, is nearer each day we live ; and 
this consideration should stimulate our zeal and keep 
us wide awake. Even in those early days of this age, 
believers were looking for the speedy coming of the 
Lord Jesus, to rescue and reward them. 

12. The night is far spent, the day is at hand : let us 
therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the 
armor of light. 

The night of trial, affliction, and tribulation is far 
spent, the day of deliverance, of triumph, of final 
reward, is at hand. Hence, let us cast ^everything 
that belongs to the darkness of this world, its friend- 
ship, its lusts, its maxims, its spirit, and let us put 
on the ar??ior of light, righteousness, truth, faith, 
hope, and love. 

13. Let us walk honestly, as in the day; not in rioting 
and drunkenness, not in chambering and wantonness, not in 
strife and envying. 

These were the sins most common among the 

pagans of that time, and as human nature has not 

changed nor improved, they are also common among 



A COMMENTARY 243 

those called Christians. Rioting and drunkenness are 
more common among the poorer classes ; chambering' 
and wantonness among the leisure classes ; and strife 
and envying among all classes, and between the differ- 
ent classes. 

14. But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not pro- 
vision for the flesh, \.o ftclfil the lusts thereof. 

To put on the Lord Jesus Christ is different from 
having Him formed within us. We cannot put Him 
on unless He is within, however. To put Him on, 
is to imitate Him in our conduct ; to walk as He 
also walked ; to imitate or follow Him. This is our 
plain duty, and if we do not thus follow Him we are 
not His disciples. 

The injunction to inake not provision for the fleshy 
is almost universally ignored by professed Christians. 
By "the flesh" is meant the carnal nature; and to 
make provision for it is to allow that it shall have 
any control over our lives. God has made provision 
to destroy it, hence we need make no provision for 
its existence nor its influence over us. We are made 
free from it in Christ. Yet in the prayers written 
in the various litanies used by different sects, the 
fact is recognized that the users of those prayers would 
continue to fulfil the lusts of the flesh by sinning 
against God. Thus provision is made for the flesh 
contrary to the command of Godc If their member- 



2 44 A COMMENTARY 

ship were to obey the apostolic injunction here 
recorded they could have no further use for these 
prayers. So by making provision for the flesh men 
are encouraged to live in unholiness and disobedience 
to God. 



General Observations. 

Since love is the fulfilling of the law, it follows 
that outward acts, rites, and observances are of less 
importance than is generally supposed. In fact they 
are of no importance except as evidence of love or 
of its absence. This one consideration should put a 
stop forever to the wrangle concerning carnal ordi- 
nances, since they can be of no importance in them- 
selves, and are only acts of obedience when they are 
the fruits of love. It is improbable that the law 
written in the heart, the only law promised under 
the gospel, would ever prompt its possessor to the 
observance of a carnal ordinance. He must be 
impelled to this act by some other influence. This 
law of love emancipates the believer from bondage to 
the letter, a bondage which is most hurtful to a weak 
conscience. As the observance of carnal rites cannot 
justify us, neither will the mere neglect of them con- 
demn us Men however honest never have agreed as 
to the proper observance of these outward ordinances. 



A COMMENTARY 245 

and probably they never will agree. If therefore the 
believer's acceptance vs^ith God or his future salvation 
depends upon his proper observance of any or all of 
these rites, he can never possess assurance of God's 
favor, as he can never absolutely know that he has 
properly observed them. This leaves him in a pre- 
carious state. But the law of love, the law of liberty, 
delivers him from bondage to fear and doubt, since 
"if any man love God, the same is known of him"; 
and if he knows that he loves God and his neighbor, 
he knows that he has fulfilled the whole law and not 
one jot or tittle of the letter stands against him. Thus 
he serves God "in the newness of the spirit and not 
in the oldness of the letter." 



CHAPTER XIV. 

I. Him that is weak in the faith receive ye, but not to 
doubtful disputations. 

To be weak Ui the faith^ is to be wavering, not 
yet established. Such a one is not to be rejected 
from fellowship on this account, but his weaknesses 
are to be borne with patiently. 

The words rendered ''doubtful disputations'^ 
(diakriseis dialogismon) are variously translated by 
critics. The first means a separation, a discerning, 
discrimation, a judging, a dispute, etc. The second 
signifies a discoursing together, a reasoning, a dispu- 
tation, etc. The words are both nouns and the idea 
of doubt is not found in the original. I would ren- 
der it "judging disputations," and I think the con- 
text carries out this meaning. The apostle has just 
shown in the preceding chapter that love is the 
fulfilling of the law, and that consequently these out- 
ward things are of small importance, and not worth 
contending about. And such contention would be 
especially injurious to those who are weak. It would 

distract their minds from the most important matters 
(246) 



A COMMENTARY 247 

and tend to stumble them by making them unchari- 
table. No doubt the differences of education and the 
prejudices growing out of these differences made it 
difficult for the Jew and Gentile converts to agree 
upon the meat and drink question and there was need 
of much forbearance and charity to prevent division. 
To judge and condemn one another over these trifles 
would be destructive of Christian charity, and par- 
ticularly would this be true of the weak and waver- 
ing who could bear but little. They would need to 
be borne with rather than argued with. It is natural 
that men should be greatly concerned with meats and 
drinks, but better things are to be expected of spirit- 
ual men. 

2. For one believeth that he may eat all things : another, 
who is weak, eateth herbs. 

On the face of it, this is not complimentary to 
vegetarians, but their scruples are usually hygienic 
rather than religious. It was probably the Gentile con- 
verts who believed that they might eat all things, 
though some Jews may have been so fully instructed 
as to have understood their Christian liberty in these 
matters. The Gentiles had no distinction of clean and 
unclean meats, and so had no prejudices to overcome 
on this point. The Jew, on the contrary, had this 
distinction deeply impressed upon his mind and it 
was difficult for him to ignore it. Besides he could 



248 A COMMENTARY 

not as a Jew use those meats that were clean to him 
unless the animal had been properly slain in accord- 
ance with Jewish custom. Where the Jewish popu- 
lation w^as scattered among the Gentiles it was 
probably difficult or impossible for him to procure the 
flesh of clean animals so prepared. Besides much of 
it had been offered in sacrifice to idols which had 
made it unfit for his use. So not being sufficiently 
instructed in Christianity to feel free to use his liberty, 
he abstained entirely from the use of meat. 

3. Let not him that eateth despise him that eateth not; 
and let not him which eateth not judge him that eateth: for 
God hath received him. 

This is precisely what they were respectively in 
danger of doing. The man who never had such 
scruples would be tempted to feel contempt for the 
man Avho possessed them, as they would seem to him 
to be foolish. And the man who once had felt such 
scruples, but was now delivered from them, though 
more able to bear with his weak brother, would still 
be tempted to undervalue him because of these things. 
It would seem to him that the other ought to have 
learned better. 

On the other hand the man who did not eat meat 
would be inclined to condemn the man who did, for 
doing something which he could not do with a clear 
conscience, thus making his conscience, instead of the 



A COMMENTARY 249 

teachings of the gospel, the standard of judgment. 
Indeed he would have much excuse for so doing. All 
the scripture then extant, would bear him out in so 
doing, and he could quote the letter against his 
brother. But one thing would cause him to hesitate ; 
the fact that God received him; that God was evi- 
dently pleased with him. He could not pronounce 
him common whom God had cleansed. 

4. Who art thou that judgest another man's servant? to 
his own master he standeth or falleth. Yea, he shall be 
holden up: for God is able to make him stand. 

As the offence of judging is the matter especially 
under consideration, the apostle directs his admoni- 
tions to those who are in danger of committing this 
offence. The apostle does not here reprehend all 
kinds of judgment. In another place he expressly 
commands us to judge them that are within, and to 
put away from among ourselves any wicked person. 
He forbids us even to eat with such as show them- 
selves to be transgressors while claiming to be 
Christians. The first thing to determine is whether 
a man is God's servant or not. If he is recognized 
as a servant of God then he must be left free in 
respect to these indifferent things which have really 
no moral quality. Such are all outward rites and 
ordinances, meats and drinks, holy days, etc. In 
these indifferent things every man must be left to 



250 A COMMENTARY 

his own judgment and conscience. Not that one man 
may not have truth which the other man lacks. 
No doubt this is true. One may be right and the 
other wrong; but error in these matters is not vital. 
Our condemnation will not harm the other man but 
ourselves ; since God will sustain him. 

5. One man esteemeth one day above another: another 
esteemeth every day alike. Let every man be fully persuaded 
in his own mind. 

Here also we see the effects of hereditary prejudices. 
The Jew was taught to esteem the seventh day as 
holy time, as well as some feast days. The Gentile 
had no prejudice in favor of the seventh, or any 
other fixed day ; and when he became a convert to 
Christianity, he esteemed all his time alike holy. If 
the popular notion of the peculiar sanctity of one 
day in the week, either of the first or of the seventh, 
is correct, how can the apostle treat the matter as he 
does? Would it not have been his duty to have 
insisted upon the sanctity of one day in the week.'' 
But he does not do this, but treats the subject as a 
matter of conscience only, as are all indifferent mat- 
ters. Some suppose that he refers to feast days only 
and not at all to the Sabbath day. But there is no 
proof of this. In another place (Col. II-16) the 
Sabbath is classed with feast days and meats and 
drinks. Evidently St. Paul does not consider any 



A COMMENTARY 25 1 

day peculiarly holy to a Christian, else he must have 
insisted upon its observance. The Jew esteems one 
day holy above another as do Christians with Jewish 
prejudices ; properly taught Christians regard all their 
time holy time, none of it more so than the remainder. 
But this is not a vital matter, so let every man 
follow his own convictions. 

6. He that regardeth the day, regardeth it unto the Lord ; 
and he that regardeth not the day, to the Lord he doth not 
regard it. He that eateth, eateth to the Lord, for he giveth 
God thanks; and he that eateth not, to the Lord he eateth 
not, and giveth God thanks. 

As all these things belong among the things 

indifferent, and as each one does as he does with a 

pure intention, to please God, he is accepted of God. 

Certainly one man is right and the other wrong in 

his opinion ; but those who are more fully instructed 

must bear w^ith weaker brethren until they get more 

light and not despise them nor dispute with them. 

It is better to be right than in error even in things 

of small importance, but the Lord will teach His 

children and guide them into all truth. 

7. For none of us liveth to himself, and no man dieth to 
himself. 

8. For whether we live, we live unto the Lord ; and 
whether we die, we die unto the Lord : whether we live there- 
fore, or die, we are the Lord's. 

It is of Christians the apostle is speaking w^hen he 

asserts that 7io7ie of us liveth to himself. This is true 



252 A COMMENTARY 

of them though it may not be true of others. The 
true Christian both lives and dies to the glory of his 
Master. This is his constant aim and concern, "to 
show forth the praises of him who hath called him 
out of darkness into His marvellous light." He 
serves God doing or suffering. There are many on 
the other hand who seem to live only to themselves. 
Their whole lives are marked by selfishness and self- 
seeking. If any one is benefited by their living it 
is not because of any intention on their part. And 
so living they die to themselves also, and are unwept 
and soon forgotten. 

9. For to this end Christ both died, and rose, and revived, 
that he might be Lord both of the dead and living. 

As the apostle has just been speaking of Christians 

living and dying it is natural to understand him as 

referring here to dead and living saints. He dicd^ 

I'ose^ and lives again, that He might be Head and 

Lord of His body, the church, whether the members 

be living or dead to us ; they all live unto Him. 

10. But \\\\y dost thou judge thy brother? or why dost 
thou set at nought thy brother? for we shall all stand before 
the judgment seat of Christ. 

11. For it is written. As I live, saith the Lord, every knee 
shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God. 

12. So then every one of us shall give account of himself 
to God. 

Both sides in the controversy are here appealed to ; 
the man who ate not, for judging his brother, and 



A COMMENTARY 253 

the man who ate, for contemptuous treatment of his 
brother. There is no occasion for such conduct on 
either side since each one is responsible to God alone, 
Who will judge righteously, and He alone can fully 
understand each case. 

We are informed in the scriptures that all judg- 
ment has been committed to the Son of God, so the 
judgment seat is that of Christ. There are two senses 
in which He is to judge the world : ist, in the sense 
of governing it during the millennial reign ; and 3nd, 
in the determination of the future destiny of men and 
angels, and in the distribution of rewards and pun- 
ishments. The quotation here made seems to refer 
to Christ's reign when all His enemies will be com- 
pelled to acknowledge His rightful authority. The 
Greek word rendered "stand before" signifies to 
stand beside, to stand before, to stand by, so as to 
assist, etc. We are plainly taught that God's people 
are to assist in judging the world. It is declared that 
the saints shall judge the world (I Cor. VI-2) and 
it is promised them that they shall sit down with 
Christ in His throne. Judgment in the sense of the 
determination of our relation to God as condemned or 
acquitted, which decides our future destiny, is already 
begun, "For the time is come that judgment must 
begin at the house of God." (I Pet. IV-17.) We 
are told further that "if we would judge ourselves, 



254 A COMMENTARY 

we should not be judged." (I Cor. XI-31.) One of 
the works of judgment is to uncover and expose sin. 
Jesus declares that there is nothing covered that shall 
not be revealed nor hid that shall not be made 
known. It is declared that Christ will bring to light 
the hidden things of dishonesty; and in Rom. II-16 
it is declared that He shall judge the secrets of men's 
hearts. But this work of uncovering sin may begin 
now, and does begin with every sincere penitent. 
" He that covereth his sins shall not prosper; but who 
so confesseth and forsaketh them shall find mercy." 
This is, no doubt, the reason why some souls pro- 
fessedly seeking God do not prosper or make prog- 
ress ; they persist in covering sin. God gives judg- 
ment light that we may see our sins and confess 
them. If we will uncover our sins God will cover 
them and they will be forgotten ; they will be re- 
membered no more forever. " Blessed is the man 
whose iniquity is forgiven and whose sins are cov- 
ered." We do not have to wait until the wicked are 
judged to have the secrets of our hearts exposed. It 
may be done now. " But if all prophesy, and there 
come in one that believeth not, or one unlearned, he 
is convinced of all, he is judged of all: and thus are 
the secrets of his heart made manifest." (I Cor. XIV- 
34,25.) Here the work of judgment is going for- 
ward. In the future state saints shall be judged only 



A COMMENTARY 255 

in the sense of being publicly indicated and ap- 
proved. Judgment begins here in the house of God ; 
it will culminate there. But there will be no public 
inquest into their lives; that takes place here. Here 
they uncover their shame and have it eternally hidden 
and forgotten. 

13. Let us not therefore judge one another any more: but 
judge this rather, that no man put a stumblingblock or an 
occasion to fall in his brother's way. 

Instead of finding fault with our brother about 
trifles, let us look to ourselves that our conduct is 
such that it will not be an occasion of stumbling to 
our brother. His prejudices must be considered, and 
his ignorance and weakness borne with. 

14. I know, and am persuaded by the Lord Jesus, that 
there is nothing unclean of itself: but to him that esteemeth 
anything to be unclean, to him it is unclean. 

What the Lord Jesus said about this matter, that 

what goes into the mouth does not defile the man, 

but that which comes out, is decisive upon this point. 

But the apostle probably refers to revelations of the 

truth which he had personally received. It follows 

that those who ate the meat were in the right, and 

those who refused it were in the wrong. The same 

principle holds good with regard to the keeping of 

days, as with regard to the making distinction in 

meats : both belong to Judaism. But a man may be 

easily in error in such matters without invalidating 



256 A COMMENTARY 

his salvation. And so long as a thing seems wrong 
to me I cannot do it, though it may be innocent 
and harmless in itself: "for whatsoever is not of 
faith is sin." My intention would be just as contrary 
to love as if the thing were actually sinful ; and all 
sin, to a believer, is in the intention. Hence, the 
importance of being "fully persuaded in our own 
mind." We cannot do certain things because others 
do, seemingly with a good conscience. We must be 
convinced for ourselves. Each one must walk in his 
own light, and by his own conscience. No doubt, 
however, all limitations of our Christian liberty 
are injurious to us as well as dangerous. If we 
remain like little children, teachable, we will be 
guided into all truth, that truth which makes us free. 
The apostle avows himself afraid of some who 
observed days and months and times and years, lest 
he had bestowed upon them labor in vain ; and 
spiritual men cannot but feel fear for those who 
appear to be attached to meats and drinks. Many 
gallant ships have gone to pieces upon these rocks. 

15. But if thy brother be grieved with thy meat, now 
walkest thou not charitably. Destroy not him with thy meat 
for whom Christ died. 

It is not in accordance with love for me to grieve 
a brother knowingly in trivial matters. If I love 
him, I will avoid offense as far as I can with a 



A COMMENTARY 257 

clear conscience. Since Jesus died to save him, I cer- 
tainly ought not willingly to destroy him, that I might 
have my own way in so small a matter. The apostle 
declares, in another place, "If meat make my 
brother to offend, I will eat no meat while the world 
stands." 

16. Let not then your good be evil spoken of: 

This injunction is to be understood in connection 
with what has preceded it, and not in a general 
sense. Christians are expected to be evil spoken of 
for Christ's sake, and they are not to seek to avoid 
this, but to rejoice in it. This cannot be prevented 
by any carefulness on our part. What is meant here 
is that we are not to so use our liberty in things of 
no vital importance as to shock the religious sensi- 
bilities of others not so well taught, and thus create 
scandal. Such conduct would have the appearance of 
evil, which we are to avoid. 

17. For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but 
righteousness, and peace, and joy in the H0I7 Ghost. 

These outward things not being of the essence of 
Christ's religion, are not of enough importance to 
contend about, or to insist on. Christianity is a 
spiritual religion, and its essentials are in the heart. 
Righteousness or inward holiness is the essential thing 
in the religion of Jesus ; and this is accompanied by 
17 



258 A COMMENTARY 

peace and joy in the Holy Ghost. If outward rites 
and carnal ordinances were essential parts of Chris- 
tianity, then they should be contended for, and insisted 
upon ; and we should see that others were properly 
observing them, as most professors of Christianity 
do. But as these outward things are of small im- 
portance, and not essential, there is no excuse for the 
divisions among nominal Christians, which are caused 
principally by differences over these matters. Thus, 
that which is essential is lost sight of in wrangling 
over trifles. 

18. For he that in these things serveth Christ is accept- 
able to God, and approved of men. 

Serving God with a pure heart, he is approved of 
Him, and all his conduct flowing from love to God 
and man, he will be approved of men without regard 
to outward rites and ordinances. We are not to al- 
low ourselves to be judged in meats and drinks, or 
in respect to a holy day, or anything of that nature ; 
we are to refuse to acknowledge the validity of such 
judgment. 

19. Let us therefore follow after the things which make 
for peace, and things wherewith one may edify another. 

Instead of dwelling upon points of difference which 
are not material, and which will tend to produce 
discord and strife about words to no profit, let us 
rather consider those vital matters upon which we 



A COMMENTARY 259 

agree, which will promote peace and unity among 
us. This is just what the warring sects of Chris- 
tendom have not done, and the results of their folly 
and disobedience are plainly seen. Most men love 
their own opinions too well to sink them for the 
common good. And besides, not being spiritual, they 
exaggerate the importance of outward things, and 
variance, strife, and division result. There are few 
who agree with John Wesley when he says, "I am 
sick of opinions ; my soul loathes the frothy stuff. 
If thy heart be with my heart as my heart is with 
thy heart, give me thy hand." 

20. For meat destroy not the work of God. All things 
indeed are pure ; but it is evil for that man who eateth with 
offence. 

Love and unity among God's people is the work 
of God ; and when these are destroyed by contention 
about rites and ordinances, or any other outward 
thing, the work of God is destroyed. The folly and 
wickedness of such a course should be easily apparent. 

It is true that these distinctions of clean and un- 
clean meats, as established by the law of Moses, are 
now abolished, and that nothing is impure that is 
fitted for human needs ; and it is also true that no 
one is under any obligation to observe any such dis- 
tinctions, so far as his own conscience is concerned ; 
but still it may be evil to do this innocent thing, 



2 6o A COMMENTARY 

since it may be done with offense. That is, it may 
be done in such a way, or at such a time, as 
to stumble a brother, and to cause him either to 
wound his own conscience by imitating our example, 
or by causing him to condemn us without scriptural 
grounds for so doing. Thus some things are lawful, 
that are not expedient. 

21. It is good neither to eat flesh, nor to drink wine, nor 
anything whereby thy brother stumbleth, or is offended, or is 
made weak. 

We have here laid down the general principle, 
then, that Christians should refrain from the doing of 
lawful things by which other Christians may be 
stumbled or injured. Among these lawful things are 
the eating of flesh and the drinking of wine. The 
eating of flesh is generally esteemed lawful, though 
there are some weak consciences or weak stomachs 
which confine others to a purely vegetable diet. 
The drinking of wine is, however, generally con- 
sidered unlawful to Christians ; but it is clear that 
St. Paul does not so think. It may be among the 
things inexpedient, but is certainly not among the 
things unlawful in the apostle's estimation. Modern 
reformers have gone to extremes in their crusade 
against the use of alcoholic beverages. While I do 
not practice, nor would I advise their use, I am 
bound to say that total abstinence is a modern doc- 



A COMMENTARY 261 

• 

trine, unknown to the New Testament writers. It is 
true that sinners make a bad use of these things, but 
so do they of food and raiment and every other good 
thing. Christians have control of their appetites, and 
are not under any bondage in these matters. They 
need refuse nothing that can be received with thanks- 
giving. The notion that Christians dare not use wine, 
even in the Eucharist, but must substitute water, 
appears to me a burlesque on the religion of Jesus. 
Christ turned water to wine, but modern Christians, 
in name, would turn wine into water, and teach 
their Lord a lesson in morals. 

22. Hast thou faith? have it to thyself before God. 
Happy is he that condemneth not himself in that thing which 
he alloweth. 

That is, if you are convinced of the purity and 
lawfulness of these things, do not make a show 
or parade of your faith, especially where weak con- 
sciences are. You can deny yourself the exercise of 
your liberty for the good of others. If you possess 
this knowledge and feel this liberty, yet do not so 
use them as to destroy the work of God, and thus 
condemn yourself, happy art thou. 

23. And he that doubteth is damned if he eat, because 
he eateth not of faith: for whatsoever is not of faith is sin. 

To do anything which one suspects to be wrong is 
to bring condemnation on one's conscience. I must 



262 A COMMEXTARV 

be fully convinced that a thing is right before I do 
it ; otherwise I must give myself the benefit of the doubt 
by refraining. To do anything which I believe or sus- 
pect to be wrong is to sin. The sin is not therefore 
in the act, but in the intention, for the act may be 
lawful and innocent in itself, but if I esteem it to be 
wrong, it is wrong to me. 



General Observations. 

The contents of the foregoing chapter are very 
important and instructive, and it would be well for 
the cause of the Christian religion if its teachings 
had been always heeded. But this is far from being 
the case. In most instances sects of professed Chris- 
tians have separated over differences of opinion about 
external and indifferent things. By so doing they 
have demonstrated that they love their own opinions 
more than they love their brethren, and more than 
they love God's cause. Jesus prays that His people 
may be one ; but they are ready to rend the body of 
Christ for trivial causes. As unity is absolutely essen- 
tial to growth, all growth has been prevented, and 
spiritual death has supervened. There is no excuse 
whatever for Christians, who agree in essentials, as 
Christians will do, to divide over things indifferent. 



A COMMENTARY 263 

Although those who have faith, and who are more 
perfectly instructed, are required to use their liberty 
judiciously and charitably, it is not to be supposed 
that they must surrender their liberty to ignorance 
and prejudice. The whole church is not to be kept 
in bondage because a few persons are bound. The 
majority are right, and the others are in error. The 
prejudices of the weak must not be too rudely 
shocked, nor their consciences wounded, but it is to 
be expected that they will be teachable, and so will 
soon be delivered from their bondage to tradition. 
Otherwise the whole church would be kept at the 
lowest level consistent with salvation. The truth is 
not to be concealed, but is to be spoken in love, 
even the truth about indifferent things. Liberty is 
desirable and bondage dangerous, and God will Him- 
self reveal the whole truth to those who are willing 
to learn, and thus, under the teachings of the Holy 
Spirit, unity of faith will be brought about. 



CHAPTER XV. 

1. We then that are strong ought to bear the infirmities 
of the weak, and not to please ourselves. 

This certainly is a reasonable conclusion, but how 
seldom is it practiced. It is observed among those 
only who possess the love of the brethren. Among 
others it is as it is among worldly men ; the weak 
must do the enduring ; it is the fittest who survive. 
But love engenders tenderness toward the weak and 
a disposition to care for and protect them. The 
lambs are cared for as well as the sheep and even 
the lame are nursed and healed. No doubt this 
requires self-denial. It lays upon us the necessity of 
pleasing others rather than ourselves. 

2. Let every one of us please Iiis neighbor for ///> good to 
edification. 

It may be asked, "Is it my duty to seek to please 

others?" Yes, if it can be done to his edification; 

if it will help to build him up in holiness ; otherwise 

it is a matter of indifference. If we can do a man ^ 

good by pleasing him rather than ourselves it is our 

duty to do so. 
(264) 



A COMMENTARY 265 

3. For even Christ pleased not himself; but, as it is writ- 
ten, The reproaches of them that reproached thee fell on me. 

This quotation is from Ps. LXIX-9, and is spoken 
by David of himself, but the apostle here applies it 
to Christ, to whom it most eminently belongs. To 
endure for the sake of another is not to please our- 
selves. Christ did this for our sakes, and cannot we 
do it for the sake of our brethren? 

4. For whatsoever things were written aforetime were writ- 
ten for our learning, that we through patience and comfort 
of the scriptures might have hope. 

The Old Testament scriptures were all the scrip- 
tures possessed by the first Christians. These are said 
to have been written for our learnings and this state- 
ment, no doubt, applies to us as well as to them. 
They were diligently searched by them to find state- 
ments referring to Christ, and they found many which 
wx should scarcely suspect of such meaning. Having 
the New Testament, w^e are not such diligent stu- 
dents of the Old. But their study will well re- 
pay the labor bestowed on them. It is true that they 
do not furnish us a standard of living, nor are we to 
measure ourselves by the characters therein described. 
Christians are of another spirit than that of Elijah or 
of any Old Testament believer. Yet understanding 
these things we may find many things to instruct us, 
since truth is here taught in symbol and allegory. 



2 66 A COMMENTARY 

5. Now the God of patience and consolation grant you to 
be likeminded one toward another according to Christ Jesus : 

Had the apostle been as wise as many men now 
imagine themselves to be, he would have seen the 
futility of such a prayer ; as it is now the general 
decision that likemindedness is impossible, and that 
those who expect such a thing are illogical dreamers, 
ignorant of the constitution of the human mind. But 
as both Christ and the apostle Paul pray for this, I 
must still hold to its possibility; especially since we 
are informed that it did once actually exist among the 
first Christians. Meanwhile let us strive for and ex- 
pect this unanimity, carefully keeping the imity of the 
spirit that we may attain unto the unity of faith and 
knowledge of the Son of God. But we will never 
attain to this onemindedness by separating from our 
brother because of every, or any, difference of opinion 
about meats and drinks. This will carry us in the 
opposite direction, and produce such a bedlam of 
conflicting doctrines as will entitle us to the name of 
Babylon or confusion. God alone can bring peace 
and order out of such a chaos, but the God of peace 
ami consolation can do even this. But this must be 
done accordi?ig to Christ jfcsiis. jSIany men have 
attempted to perform the miracle in their own way 
and have failed. It cannot be done simply by rea- 
sonings and argumentation, but by the teachings and 



A COMMENTARY 267 

guidance of the Holy Spirit. God alone can make 
men of one spirit, and He alone can make them of 
one mind and one soul. 

6. That je may with one mind and one mouth glorify 
God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. 

When God's people think and speak the same 
things, they glorify God with one mind and one 
mouth. This unity is particularly pleasing to God and 
greatly to His glory ; by it Christ's claims to the 
Messiahship are clearly demonstrated, for such a unity 
must be supernatural and of Divine origin. 

7. Wherefore receive ye one another, as Christ also re- 
ceived us to the glory of God. 

As Christ received in such a manner and on such 
terms as brought glory to God, so should we receive 
one another. God is not glorified by contention and 
strife about words among His people, but by kind- 
ness, forbearance and oneness. 

8. Now I say that Jesus Christ was a minister of the cir- 
cumcision for the truth of God, to confirm the promises made 
unto the fathers : 

This seems to be an abrupt change of the subject; 
but if we can understand what was in the apostle's 
mind it may not appear so. No doubt the scruples 
of the Jewish Christians about meats and drinks were 
hard to be borne by those who were without their 
inherited prejudices. They appeared to the Gentile 



268 A COMMENTARY 

converts to be often childish and fooHsh. We know, 
also, that the possession of such prejudices tends to 
make men uncharitable in their judgments. The 
Gentiles knowing that they were right and the 
others wrong in those matters, needed every incentive 
to help them to bear patiently with their Jewish 
brethren. The fact that the apostle calls them strong 
and the others weak, no doubt, was some help, and 
must have been correspondingly unpalatable to the 
Jewish believers ; as those who are sticklers for 
trifles generally imagine themselves to be strong. As 
a further consideration which might assist to the same 
end, the apostle here refers to Christ's ministry 
among the Jews. lie was not sent to the Gentiles 
but to the Jews. They had the promise of His com- 
ing, and His ministry among them confirmed the 
truth of these promises. As God thus regarded the 
Jews, and Christ confined His labors to their nation 
they certainly demanded consideration from the con- 
verted Gentiles. This seems to have been the thought 
in the mind of the writer, and so is just in line with 
what has gone before. 

9. And that the Gentiles might glorify God for Iiis mercy; 
as it is written, For this cause I will confess to thee among 
the Gentiles, and sing unto thy name. 

10. And again he saith, Rejoice, ye Gentiles, \vith his 
people. 

11. And again, Praise the Lord, all ye Gentiles; and 
laud him, all ye jieople. 



A COMMENTARY 269 

12. And again, Esaias saith, There shall be a root of Jesse, 
and he that shall rise to reign over the Gentiles; in him shall 
the Gentiles trust. 

These scriptures are quoted to show that although 
no promise had been made to their fathers, as in 
the case of the Jews, yet the Gentiles were also 
included in the merciful provisions made for the sal- 
vation of a lost race. Though the Jew had the first 
claim on God's mercy he had no greater nor surer 
claim than the Gentiles had. 

13. Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace 
in believing, that ye may abound in hope, through the power 
of the Holy Ghost. 

Being assured, then, both Jew and Gentile, of your 

rights and privileges under the gospel, may you be 

jilled with all joy and peace in believing. Such a 

result ought certainly to follow faith in such a gospel. 

But it will follow only as it is wrought in us by the 

God of hope. The Deity is here called the God of 

hope because He is the Author of hope. But for His 

mercy in providing a Redeemer, there would be 

nothing left us but despair. Joy and peace are the 

fruits of faith and hope, but this faith and hope, as 

well as the resultant joy and peace, must be wrought 

in us by the Holy Spirit. A faith and a hope not 

so produced is a dead faith and a false hope, and 

the resultant joy and peace are delusive. Our peace 

must be "the peace of God," and our joy must be 



270 A COMMENTARY 

"joy in the Holy Ghost." These graces are all 
supernatural and heavenly. 

14. And I myself also am persuaded of you, my brethren, 
that ye also are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge, 
able also to admonish one another. 

This is a very high commendation, and proves that 
the church at Rome was in excellent spiritual condi- 
tion. In no place in this letter does the apostle find 
any fault v^^ith this church, as he does with the church 
at Corinth and the churches in Galatia. It is true that 
St. Paul had never as yet visited Rome, but he, no 
doubt, was well informed of their spiritual state. He 
declares in the first place, that they were full of 
goodness. Some strong things are said of the holi- 
ness and perfection of the church of Christ in general, 
but this is, probably, the highest tribute paid to any 
particular congregation. The passage which some 
professed Christians are pleased to apply to them- 
selves, "there is none good, no not one," will scarcely 
apply to these Roman disciples. It was said of 
the martyr Stephen that he was a good man, but 
these saints at Rome were full of goodness. There 
could therefore be no room left in them for sin. If 
there were no sin in them they must have been pure 
in heart, and devoid of carnality. Those, therefore, 
who imagine that in the first verse of the twelfth 
chapter the apostle urges them to attain to this state 



A COMMENTARY 271 

of purity and holiness, must be in a mistake, as he 
testifies that they are already there. They are also 
filled with all knowledge: that is, spiritual knowledge 
necessary for them to possess. They are not ignorant 
of anything they need to know. 

They are able also to admonish one another. Un- 
like those addressed in the Letter to the Hebrews, 
they themselves are competent to teach the gospel, 
and must therefore have been able to use strong meat, 
and were " of full age " (teleioi) or perfect ones. 
They were not such as needed milk. 

15. Nevertheless, brethren, I have written the more boldlv 
unto you in some sort, as putting you in mind, because of the 
grace that is given to me of God, 

Notwithstanding the fact that you are thus filled 
with knowledge and goodness and able to teach and 
advise one another, yet I have written unto you 
concerning things you already know, that I may re- 
mind you of them and impress them upon you. 
Christians need to be reminded again and again of 
the things they already know, that they may give the 
more earnest heed to them lest at any time they 
should let them slip. St. Peter calls this, stirring up 
their pure mind by way of remembrance. 

16. That I should be the minister of Jesus Christ to the 
Gentiles, ministering the gospel of God, that the offering up 
of the Gentiles might be acceptable, being sanctified by the 
Holy Ghost. 



272 A COMMENTARY 

Since the grace of God had made him a minister 
of the gospel, especially to the Gentiles, he had done 
nothing except his duty in writing to them, though 
they were, many of them, strangers to him personally. 
He had not exceeded his authority and needed no 
apology. And because he knew their good spiritual 
state he had written the 77iore boldly, not being afraid 
of injuring them by giving them strong meat, and 
being assured that they would be able to understand 
him, which some others were not. His object in 
writing was, since he was the apostle to the Gen- 
tiles, that the offering up of the Gentiles might be 
acceptable to God. He here represents the presenta- 
tion of the saved Gentiles to God as being a sacrifice 
or oblation ; and we know that no sacrifice was 
acceptable that was not perfect. It must not be 
lacking in the least particular, even in the tip of an 
ear. So the oblation of the Gentiles could not be 
acceptable unless it were sanctijicd by the Holy Ghost. 
This would make them complete in all the will of 
God, since they that are sanctified are said to be per- 
fected forever; " for by one offering he hath perfected 
forever them that are sanctified." (Heb. X-i4th.) 

We see here the burden of a real minister of Christ. 
His one aim in his labors among God's people, is to 
present them a perfect offering to God. For this 
cause he is jealous over them with a godly jealousy 



A COMMENTARY 273 

having espoused them to one husband, that he may 
present them with joy and not with grief. What he 
does for them is by constraint of the love of Christ. 
God pity the man who preaches for a livelihood, or 
for a reputation, or for any kindred reason. He is 
guilty of Simony and sacrilege, who usurps the holy 
office to serve his own ends. 

17. I have therefore whereof I may glory through Jesus 
Christ in those things which pertain to God. 

18. For I will not dare to speak of any of those things 
which Christ hath not wrought by me, to make the Gentiles 
obedient, by word and deed, 

19. Through mighty signs and wonders, by the power of 
the Spirit of God ; so that from Jerusalem, and round about 
unto Illyricum, I have fully preached the gospel of Christ. 

The work of soul-saving, especially when accom- 
panied by great demonstration of the Spirit, and 
power, is one in which its participants may well 
glory or rejoice. It is a blessed and soul-inspiring 
labor, accompanied by much hardship and suffering. 

The apostle Paul is careful however not to claim 
the results of other men's labors, nor did he wish to 
enjoy them. He was ambitious to break new^ ground 
and to labor in untried fields ; he wished himself to 
lay the foundation as well as to rear the super- 
structure. This was a worthy ambition, at that time 
easily gratified. But it is not always possible now, 
though the true man scorns to reap what others have 

sown and so far as possible avoids doing so. 
18 



2 74 A COMMENTARY 

20. Yea, so have I strived to preach the gospel, not 
where Christ was named, lest I should build upon another 
man's foundation: 

21. But as it is written, To whom he was not spoken of, 
they shall see : and they that have not heard shall under- 
stand. 

22. For which cause also I have been much hindered from 
coming to you. 

St. Paul's desire to preach only where Christ was 

not named had hitherto been a hindrance to his 

visiting Rome, as the gospel had already been preached 

in that city. But, no doubt many of his spiritual 

children were in Rome though the apostle Himself 

had never been there. Then, as since, all roads led 

to Rome ; and it was being constantly visited by 

persons from all parts of the empire many of whom 

remained there. This made Rome common ground 

which could be exclusively claimed by no one. St. 

Paul had long entertained a desire to visit that city, 

to see his own converts and to have fruit among its 

inhabitants. Then there was probably more danger 

in preaching the gospel in Rome than in the 

provinces, and the apostle did not wish to appear to 

shrink from any danger. The reproach of the gospel 

was also greater in that centre of fashion, pleasure 

and luxury. 

23. But now having no more place in these parts, and hav- 
ing a great desire these many years to come unto you ; 

24. Whensoever I take my journey into Spain, I will 
come to you: for I trust to see you in my journey, and to be 



A COMMENTARY 275 

brought on my way thithenvard by you, if first I be somewhat 
filled with your cofnpany. 

This epistle was written from Corinth \vhere the 
apostle had been laboring, and where he felt no 
longer in duty bound to remain. It seems that he 
had planned a journey into Spain, the Western 
limit of the empire, and expected to stop in Rome 
on his way thither. But the journey into Spain was 
not made as he had planned and probably never was 
made. The journey to Rome was made, but under 
far different circumstances than he had planned. It 
is not well for us to plan too far ahead as we are 
likely to do so without Divine direction, and we will 
only invite disappointment. 

25. But now I go unto Jerusalem to minister unto the 
saints. 

26. For it hath pleased them of Macedonia and Achaia to 
make a certain contribution for the poor saints which are at 
Jerusalem. 

It is not apparent why there should have been more 
poor saints at Jerusalem than in Greece, and possi- 
bly there were not. But St. Paul had been requested 
by the apostles at Jerusalem to remember the poor 
saints there, which he was forward to do. The prob- 
ability is that this contribution about which he took 
so much care was intended as a sort of peace offering 
to the Jewish Christians. The believing Jews were 
averse to receiving the Gentile converts unless they 



276 A COMiMENTARY 

were first circumcised. This the apostle Paul stren- 
uously resisted. This created a prejudice against the 
apostle, causing him to be regarded as a renegade 
Jew. He took great pains to raise a large contribu- 
tion among the Gentile believers, to show to their 
Jewish brethren that they were not forgetful of their 
obligations to them, and that they recognized the 
unity of the Jewish and Gentile believers. The whole 
scheme however, miscarried through the fanaticism of 
the Jews at Jerusalem as we learn in the Acts of the 
Apostles. In attempting to placate the Jews there 
was danger of surrendering too far to their preju- 
dices, and of compromising the truth itself. The at- 
tempt of St. Paul to conciliate the Jews by publicly 
observing the ceremonial law in the temple at Jerusa- 
lem, by the advice of the brethren, seems not to have 
met the Divine approval. It brought about the result 
he was endeavoring to avoid, and got him into one 
of the greatest dangers of his life, and made him a 
prisoner nearly four years. Those plans which natural 
prudence suggests, are not best calculated to advance 
the kingdom of God. 

27. It hath pleased them veril}-; and their debtors they are. 
For if the Gentiles have been made partakers of their spirit- 
ual things, their duty is also to minister unto them in carnal 
things- 

This is a general principle and applies not only to 
the duty of the Gentile converts to their Jewish 



A COMMENTARY 277 

teachers but to the duty of all who are taught in the 
word to communicate to those who teach them in all 
good things. So they that preach the gospel should 
live of the gospel. The duty of those called and 
sent of God to preach is imperative, and the duty of 
those who are taught by them is equally imperative. 

28. When therefore I have performed this, and have sealed 
to them this fruit, I will come by you into Spain. 

So man proposed, but God disposed otherwise. 
This visit to Spain seems to have been a cherished 
hope of the great apostle. He may have gone on to 
Spain after his release by Nero. Spain was held by 
the Carthaginians until after the second Punic war, 
when it gradually came into the possession of the 
Romans, and remained a province of that empire un- 
til its dissolution. Some of the apostles travelled to 
countries beyond the borders of the Roman Empire, 
preaching the gospel of Christ. St. Thomas is said 
to have been martyred in India. But St. Paul seems 
to have confined his labors within the limits of the 
Empire, unless we count Arabia outside of it. 

29. And I am sure that, when I come unto you, I shall 
come in the fulness of the blessing of the gospel of Christ. 

This passage is, I think, generally misunderstood 
and misinterpreted. The Greek . word (eulogias) 
translated "blessing" is usually interpreted to refer 



278 A COMMENTARY 

to some blessing which the apostle had experienced 
or received. The word, however, signifies ** praise, 
giving of thanks, bounty, almsgiving, etc." The Eng- 
lish word "eulogy" is derived from it. The idea 
expressed by the word is of giving rather than of 
receiving. It is not a blessing that the apostle had 
received that he speaks of, but one that he will im- 
part, bestow upon his hearers, as a bounty, a bene- 
diction. He expresses confidence that he will be fully 
able to impart to them the boon, the bounty of the 
gospel of Christ. There is in the apostle's language 
no boast concerning his personal, experience, but a 
confident claim of an ability to accomplish the work 
to which he had a Divine call. This was a matter 
of much more importance to his hearers, than his own 
personal experience could have been. We may have 
received much from the Lord with little ability to 
impart blessing to others. The apostle, whose sufli- 
ciency was of God, was conscious of having this gift 
in its fulness, and so expresses himself. 

30. Now I beseech you, brethren, for the Lord Jesus 
Christ's sake, and for the love of the Spirit, that ye strive 
together with me in your prayers to God for me; 

31. That I may be delivered from them that do not 
believe in Judaea; and that my service which / haze for 
Jerusalem may be accepted of the saints; 

St. Paul was concerned for two things, that his 
service for the saints at Jerusalem might be pleasing 



A COMMENTARY 279 

to them, and that he might escape from his enemies 
in that city. Knowing the inveterate prejudices of 
the Jewish Christians, and their zeal for the law, he 
feared that they might be unwilling to accept alms 
from Gentile converts. How plainly had "their 
table become a stumbling to them." I suppose that 
much must be excused in them because of the preju- 
dices of their education, but their condition is certainly 
not very hopeful. Contrasted with the charity and 
liberality of the Gentile Christians, they suffer much 
by the comparison. A Gentile is not probably able 
to put a proper estimate upon their spiritual state, 
but they could not have been used to any advantage 
in evangelizing the world. The other apostles could 
dwell in Jerusalem, but St. Paul's life was not safe 
there, and he knew that he visited that city at his 
peril. This was the case for several reasons. Prob- 
ably his defection from Judaism, after having been 
himself a prominent persecutor, made him especially 
obnoxious. But the principal reason, no doubt, was 
that after such defection, being chosen of God as the 
apostle to the Gentiles, he discarded the restrictions 
of the ceremonial law, and would not allow it to be 
imposed upon the Gentile Christians. This in the 
eyes of the Jews made him appear as an apostate, 
who was not fit to live. Peter and John, and perhaps 
the other apostles, saw the propriety of this line of 



28o A COMMENTARY 

action, but being sent to the circumcision they were 
not called upon to take this stand themselves, which 
accounts for the fact that they were not so much 
hated. Then, St. Paul was recognized as being 
pre-eminent in both ability and zeal, and was there- 
fore considered the most dangerous foe of Judaism. 
St. Paul had also the clearest and most comprehensive 
knowledge of the principles of Christ's religion. He 
was able the most fully to divest himself of the 
prejudices of education and training. He had the 
courage of his convictions and a zeal which nothing 
could quench. He had the constructive faculty which 
the others lacked. In his comprehension Christianity 
became a system, and not a number of detached 
truths. All these things made him the foremost 
exponent of the new religion, and the inveterate foe 
of all compromise. So Jerusalem, the abode of his 
early manhood, where he had studied at the feet of 
Gamaliel, that most eminent doctor of the law, was 
no longer a safe place for him, and he besought the 
brethren at Rome to strive in prayer for his deliverance 
from his enemies there. And so far as we can know, 
the prayer was answered. The offering was probably 
acceptable to the saints at Jerusalem, and the 
apostle was delivered from his Jewish enemies by 
the Roman soldiers, who were the exponents of law 
and order. 



A COMMENTARY 281 

32. That I may come unto you with joy by the will of God, 
and may with you be refreshed. 

33. Now the God of peace he with you all. Amen. 

The success of his mission to Jerusalem and his 
deliverance from his enemies, would relieve him from 
a great responsibility as w^ell as from a great danger ; 
thus with joy he would be enabled to turn again to 
the work of preaching the gospel in distant regions, 
and to visit Rome as he had planned. So he read 
the future in his imagination. He did indeed visit 
Rome, but as a prisoner ; though he might have gone 
as a free man if he had not appealed his case to 
CaBsar. He was refreshed at his first meeting with the 
Roman brethren at Appii Forum. 

The last verse of this chapter contains an apostolic 
benediction. 



General Observations. 

It is an astonishing circumstance that the one apos- 
tle who never saw the Lord Jesus when He was on 
earth, and who had none of the advantages and ben- 
efits of personal association with Him, who had never 
listened to His teachings nor seen His miracles, should 
have been so supereminent in labors, and in success 
in gospel work. It is just the thing we should not 
have expected. His work made a greater impression 



282 A COMMENTARY 

Upon his own age than that of all the others com- 
bined, and has been immeasurably more potent in 
succeeding ages. It is an interesting, though perhaps 
an unprofitable query, as to what the Christian age 
would have been without St. Paul, the great apostle 
to the Gentiles. Of the labors of the great majority 
of the apostles we have no account but dim tradition. 
James the Greater soon lost his life, and of the others 
we have no account except of Peter, John, and 
James the Less. And it is principally through the 
writings they have left that we know anything of 
them, after the first few years succeeding Pentecost. 
No doubt those who left no history did noble work 
for the Master, but its results have been wholly lost. 
James, called The Less, the son of Alpheus, confined 
his labors to Jerusalem and the region round about, 
and is said to have suffered martyrdom there. As he 
labored among the Jews, the destruction of Jerusalem 
dissipated the effects of his labors. Peter and John 
were more prominent and useful than any of their 
associates in the apostolic college during the life of 
Christ. Their labors wQre great and their work suc- 
cessful. The epistles they have left are important 
and instructive, but do not compare in importance 
with those of St. Paul. There are several things 
which conspired to give the Tarsian his pre-eminence. 
I think we may reckon as first, his great natural 



A COMMENTARY 283 

ability. Peter and Johin had good natural parts, but 
Paul had a towering intellect, one of the greatest in 
history. Then St. Paul was the only educated man 
among the apostles. It cannot be denied that great 
parts and mental training are as useful in gospel work 
as elsewhere, if fully subordinated to the grace of God. 
Again, St. Paul being the apostle to the Gentiles, 
had a more promising field of labor than those had 
who labored principally among the Jews. It was a 
difficult task to make strong Christians out of Jews, 
it being almost impossible for them to divest them- 
selves of their predilection for carnal ordinances. 
With the Gentiles it was different. In a subordinate 
sense, the celibacy of the apostle Paul was an ad- 
vantage in his work. He had no home ties, no 
family responsibilities to distract him from his work. 
St. Paul was not a great orator, though an effective 
speaker. It is doubtful whether great powers of 
oratory are effective in gospel work. Oratory power- 
fully affects the sensibilities and the imagination, but 
its effects are not lasting. Probably the untiring zeal 
of the apostle was one of the greatest factors in his 
success as a preacher. These things all taken to- 
gether may not fully account for the great apostle's 
superiority, but they all conspire to that end. 



CHAPTER XVI. 

I. I commend unto you Phebe our sister, which is a 
servant of the church which is at Cenchrea : 

The city of Corinth in the lower Pelopennesus was 
situated between two gulfs, but was not itself a sea- 
port. Cenchrea was its seaport on the East, and was 
about seven miles distant from it. Here a church had 
been formed, of which Phebe was a deaconess, or 
servant. As Paul was at Corinth, and as this sister 
was about to visit Rome, on some business, the apos- 
tle sent his letter by her. Deaconesses were women 
who gave their whole time to service for the church. 
They waited on, and so, " washed the saints' feet," 
nursed the sick, and distributed among the destitute 
the provisions set aside for them. They were usually 
women who were without children or other relatives 
to provide for them. Timothy was instructed not to 
receive young widows as deaconesses, as they would 
probably break their vows and marry again, which it 
was better that they should do. As these older 
widows who were friendless were a charge on the 

church, they gave it all their service. 
(284) 



A COMMENTARY 285 

2. That ye receive her in the Lord, as becometh saints, 
and that ye assist her in whatsoever business she hath need 
of you: for she hath been a succorer of many, and of myself 
also. 

This admonition to receive this deaconess as be- 
cometh saints^ meant in the first place that they should 
treat her with chastity. The morals of the people in 
general were abominable, and in Rome there were 
scarcely any left, except among the Christians. 
Chastity was an unknown virtue. Even the Vestal 
Virgins, who were regarded by the Romans as pecul- 
iarly pure and holy, were generally prostitutes. 
Under such a state of things, an unprotected female 
ran great hazard in travelling. So much the more 
was there need of purity among Christians. It meant, 
in the second place, hospitality. This virtue also was 
rare, and was especially recommended to God's peo- 
ple. They were commanded to " use hospitality 
without grudging," and to "be not forgetful to en- 
tertain strangers." This hospitality the saints prac- 
ticed, especially toward each other, and so remarkable 
was this, that the pagans could not understand nor 
account for it except on the supposition of conspiracy ; 
and because of their hospitality toward each other, 
they were charged with having designs against the 
state. 

They were also requested to assist her in the trans- 
action of any business she had in Rome, and a par- 



286 A COMxMENTARY 

ticular reason given why such courtesy should be 
shown her was the fact of past usefulness and faith- 
fulness, of which the apostle declares that he himself 
had personal experience. 

3. Greet Priscilla and Aquila my helpers in Christ Jesus: 

St. Paul first met these two saints at Corinth. 
Aquila was a Jew, born in Pontus, and it is prob- 
able that his wife was a Jewess. They had left 
Italy because the emperor Claudius had banished all 
Jews from Rome. They accompanied Paul to 
Ephesus, a city in Asia Minor, and while there, in- 
structed Apollos in the ways of the Lord. They had 
now returned to Rome. We notice the strange cir- 
cumstance that the woman's name is mentioned be- 
fore that of her husband, which would indicate that 
she was the more able and useful of the two. She 
seems to have been a great favorite of St. Paul, as 
is shown by his giving her the diminutive of her name 
in II Tim. IV-i9th, where he calls her Prisca, a mark 
of great affection. Here again he mentions her before 
her husband. St. Luke, in the Acts of the Apostles, 
mentions Aquila first whenever he speaks of them. 
St. Paul here calls them helpers. They were not 
preachers in the common sense of the term, but religious 
teachers, and very zealous for the gospel. 

4, Who have for my lil'o laid down their own necks : unto 



A COMMENTARY 287 

whom not onlj I give thanks, but also all the churches of the 
Gentiles. 

St. Paul had made his home with this holy family 
more than a year at Corinth, because they were of 
the same craft, tentmakers; for the apostle had de- 
termined in his own mind not to be chargeable to the 
church at Corinth, and so labored with his own hands 
for a livelihood. Afterward they accompanied him 
on his travels as far as Ephesus, where he left them. 
But we do not know when it was they periled their 
lives for him. 

5. Likewise greet the church that is in their house. 
Salute mj well beloved Epsenetus, who is the first fruits of 
Achaia unto Christ. 

As there were as yet no special houses erected for 
the meeting places of Christians, they inet in private 
houses or other convenient places. The residence of 
Priscilla and Aquila was one of these meeting places 
in Rome. No doubt there were others. The gospel 
had its greatest triumphs in the absence of such con- 
veniences as are now thought to be indispensable to 
great success. Achaia was that Roman province of 
which Athens was the capital or chief city. Epsenetus 
is here said to be the first convert in that province. 
But in I Cor. XVI-i5th verse, the household of Steph- 
anas is said by the apostle to have been the first fruits 
of Achaia. There are two ways of accounting for this 



288 A COMMENTARY 

discrepancy. One is, that Epsenetus was of the house- 
hold of Stephanas. It is not said that Stephanas him- 
self was the first fruits of Achaia, but his household. 
Another explanation is that the text is incorrect. 
We are told by those who are acquainted with the 
facts, that several manuscripts and some of the 
ancient Christian fathers have it "Asia" instead of 
Achaia. This is probably the true reading, and 
removes the difficulty. 

6. Greet Mary, who bestowed much labor on us. 

We know nothing further of this sister, nor do we 
know anything of the labor she bestowed upon the 
apostle, but he has embalmed her name forever in 
the sacred records. 

7. Salute Andronicus and Junia, my kinsmen, and my fel- 
low prisoners, who are of note among the apostles, who also 
were in Christ before me. 

These were probably husband and wife ; it would 
be more proper to render it "relatives" than "kins- 
men," as one was a woman. As they were 
converted before the apostle was, and consequently 
before the preaching of the gospel among the Gentiles, 
they must have been Jews, though they have Latin 
names. Some conjecture that in calling them kinsmen 
the apostle means only that they were Israelites, 
whom he declares to be "his kinsmen according to 
the flesh.*' Most probably though they were more 



A COMMENTARY 289 

nearly related to him. They were old disciples, and 
seem to have been well known in the church. 

8. Greet Amplias my beloved in the Lord. 

Nothing is known further of this disciple than that 
he was highly esteemed by St. Paul. 

9. Salute Urbane, our helper in Christ, and Stachjs my 
beloved. 

10. Salute Apelles approved in Christ. Salute them which 
are of Aristobulus' Jiousehold . 

11. Salute Herodion my kinsman. Greet them that be of 
the household of Narcissus, which are in the Lord. 

12. Salute Tryphena and Tryphosa, who labor in the Lord. 
Salute the beloved Persis, which labored much in the Lord. 

13. Salute Rufus chosen in the Lord, and his mother and 
mine. 

Three women are here spoken of as laboring in 
the Lord. Just in what manner they labored we are 
not told ; but both men and women in apostolic times 
engaged in the work of the gospel. The women 
evidently spoke in public, at least in the assembly of 
the saints. They may be said to have preached or 
prophesied. But no woman, so far as we can learn, 
was especially called of God to the work of an 
evangelist, nor was any woman made pastor over 
any church or congregation. We are not told the 
necessary qualifications of a woman pastor or bishop, 
as there were none then, nor are there any now, 
called of God to such an office. 

Rufus' mother is here called Paul's also; but it is 
19 



290 A COMMENTARY 

not probable that Paul and Rufus were sons of the 
same mother. It might be understood that Rufus' 
mother had treated Paul as a son ; in other words, 
had been like a mother to him. 

14. Salute Asyncritus, Phlegon, Hermas, Patrobas, Hermes, 
and the brethren which are with them. 

This would indicate that here was another congre- 
gation besides the one meeting in the house of Pris- 
cilla and Aquila. It is not clear in what other 
sense the expression, "the brethren which are with 
them" can be used. Rome was a very large city, 
and the saints there may have met in several different 
places. 

15. Sahate Philologus, and Julia, Nereus, and his sister, 
and Olympas, and all the saints which are with them. 

16. Salute one another with an holy kiss. The churches of 
Christ salute you. 

I do not think we are to understand, as some do, 
that the apostle is instructing the believers to salute 
one another with a kiss. This was a custom which 
they observed, and there was nothing peculiar or 
meritorious in it. The point in the injunction is the 
kind of kiss they were to give each other. It was to 
be a7t holy kiss. Its holiness must arise from the 
state of heart of the giver. It was not to be hypo- 
critical, like the kiss Judas gave his Master, but 
sincere, honest and pure. Whatever our manner of 



A COMMENTARY 29 1 

salutation may be, it should be of the same nature, 
and thus we obey this injunction, 

17. Now I beseech you, brethren, mark them which cause 
divisions and offences contrary to the doctrine which ye have 
learned ; and avoid them. 

It is unavoidable that offences will arise. Some 
who fail to become really saved will insinuate them- 
selves among God's children for a time, or some may 
fall from the grace of God ; and such are likely to 
become a cause of division among God's people if 
not detected. Hence the necessity of constant vigi- 
lance among saints, that such persons may be recog- 
nized and dealt with before they can do harm. 
They are spoken of in Heb. XII— 15th as " roots of 
bitterness," and in the next verse as " profane per- 
sons," that is, common persons, such as are not 
spiritual, but earthly minded and sordid. It is 
astonishing how soon such will become occasions of 
division and strife. Their aims are selfish ; and 
though they may be, in general, well meaning per- 
sons, they naturally incline to cause cliques and 
parties that may sympathize and agree with them- 
selves. 

18. For they that are such serve not our Lord Jesus Christ, 
but their own belly; and by good words and fair speeches 
deceive the hearts of the simple. 

The apostle does not give sectaries much credit for 

good intentions, though it is true that they may 



292 A COMMENTARY 

deceive themselves into the belief that they are 
animated by a zeal for God and truth. But what- 
ever such persons may think, we are here assured 
that those who cause divisions contrary to the teach- 
ings of the scriptures, do not serve the Lord Jesus 
Christ. Anything that divides real Christians from 
each other, and thus weakens the bonds of union among 
them, is contrary to the doctrine that we have received. 
The division allowed and insisted upon in the scrip- 
tures, is between saints and sinners. Said God to 
the prophet, "If thou take the precious from the 
vile, thou shalt be as my mouth." But modern 
theologians apologize for, and justify, division among 
believers, and at the same time decry all efforts to 
separate the precious from the vile, considering all 
attempts of this kind to be impracticable and fanatical. 
Is not this surely a perverted gospel.? Nearly all 
divisions among professed Christians are over differ- 
ences of opinion on outward things, " meats and 
drinks" which are no part of the kingdom of God, 
and concerning which we are forbidden to contend. 
But divisions tend to serve the bellies of those who 
promote them, but they burden the victims of their 
deception as did the Jewish lawyers. 

These promoters of division do not avow their 
selfish intentions, but use oooi/ luords and fair 
speeches. They claim great zeal for the kingdom of 



A COMMENTARY 293 

God, while it is their own sect alone that they are 
interested in ; and to build a sect is to tear down the 
kingdom of God. Yet the simple ones, those with- 
out much knowledge of spiritual things, who are 
unsuspicious and do not look below the surface of 
things, are deceived by such teachers. Real saints 
are instructed to mark them, and to avoid them. 

19. For your obedience is come abroad unto all me7t. I 
am glad therefore on your behalf: but jet I would have you 
wise unto that which is good, and simple concerning evil. 

The Roman church had a good reputation among the 
other churches for faithfulness. For this the apostle 
expresses joy. He finds no fault with them, which 
speaks well for their purity. His desire for them is 
that they might be wise in good things, and simple 
or ignorant concerning evil things. To remain thus 
it would be necessary for them to shut their eyes to 
much that was transpiring around them. There are 
some things which are very profitable for us to know. 
We can never know too much of those things that 
are revealed to us by the Spirit of God. We can 
never know too much of the truth of God. But we 
can well say with the poet, 

"Other knowledge I disdain — 
'Tis all but vanity." 

There are many things in this evil world that we 
should not seek to know, and should even refuse to 



294 A COMMENTARY 

know; they are not worth knowing, or are likely to 
do us harm if we know them. It is true that purity 
is not easily contaminated, but safety is assured only 
by our avoiding unnecessary temptation. The pro- 
priety of decent people visiting the vile dens of 
iniquity to do good, a practice called "slumming," 
is at least questionable. It is doubtful if any good 
results. It is not the way to keep simple concerning 
evil. 

20. And the God of peace shall bruise Satan under your 
feet shortly. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. 
Amen. 

To what special event the apostle here refers, if 
to any one, it is probably impossible to determine. 
Some suppose him to refer to their deliverance from 
schismatics who cause aivisions. But they were 
never delivered for any great length of time from 
such foes. To bruise Sataii under their feet ^ would 
be to give them a great and permanent triumph 
over him. This was afterward realized when pagan- 
ism was overthrown and Christianity established as 
the lawful religion of the empire. This victory is 
described in Revelation as the casting out of the great 
red dragon, *' that old serpent who is called the 
devil and Satan." In this event Satan was certainly 
bruised under their feet; and it is the only event in 
their history which seems to adequately fulfil the 



A COMMENTARY 295 

prophecy. It is true that it occurred more than two 
hundred years afterward, but in prophecy two cen- 
turies are a short time. 

This verse seems to end the letter, and what 
follows is in the nature of a postscript. 

21. Timotheus my workfellow, Lucius, and Jason, and 
Sosipater, my kinsmen, salute you. 

Timothy is reputed to have been bishop or pastor 
of the church in Ephesus. The apostle in his first 
letter to Timothy, speaks of having besought him to 
remain at Ephesus, when he himself went into 
Macedonia. He seems to have been with Paul at 
Corinth at the time when the epistle to the Romans 
was written. He was a young man and greatly beloved 
by St. Paul, who was acquainted with his mother 
and grandmother. He travelled extensively with St. 
Paul, and was probably at Rome when the great 
apostle suffered martyrdom. St. Paul left him in 
Ephesus at one time to suppress heresies, but there 
is no proof but tradition that he was ever settled 
there. 

Lucius is the same name as Luke, and it is 
supposed that the author of the gospel, and of the 
Acts of the Apostles is here meant. Jason is 
mentioned in Acts XVII, as having received the 
apostle into his house at Thessalonica. This is prob- 
ably the same person. Sosipater is mentioned in Acts 



296 A COMMENTARY 

XX-4th, where his name is Sopater. He was a 
Berean. 

22. I Tertius, who wrote this epistle, salute you in the 
Lord. 

It seems that St. Paul dictated this epistle and 
that Tertius wrote it. We know nothing further 
concerning him. The name signifies " third," and 
may have been given him because he was the third 
child, or the third son. 

23. Gaius mine host, and of the whole church, saluteth you. 
Erastus the chamberlain of the city saluteth you, and Quartus 
a brother. 

Gaius is the Greek form of the Latin name Caius. 
In Acts XIX-29th, one Gaius is mentioned as a Mace- 
donian, who travelled with Paul, and who was seized 
by the mob at Ephesus. It is probable he is the 
brother here mentioned. He seems to have kept open 
house for the saints, as he is called the host of the 
whole church, keeping a kind of saints' hotel. He 
probably was a man of means to be able to show 
such hospitality. Erastus is called chamberlain or 
treasurer of the city of Corinth. The probability is 
that he did not then hold that office, but had formerly 
done so, as in Acts XIX— 23nd he is mentioned as one 
of the travelling companions of St. Paul, which 
could not have been so if he had been city treasurer. 
Quartus may have been a brother of Tertius, but 



A COMMENTARY 297 

probably the word is used in its spiritual sense. 
Quartus means "fourth." We read in the Acts also 
of Secundus, meaning "second." These names may 
have been common among the Romans. 

24. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ he with you all. 
Amen. 

Tertius is probably the author, as well as the writer 
of the 22nd, 23rd, and 24th verses, as they close with 
a benediction similar to the apostles, which he would 
not have repeated so soon. There is some controversy 
among critics concerning this verse, but it is not of 
general interest. 

25. Now to him that is of power to stablish you according 
to my gospel, and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to 
the revelation of the mystery, which was kept secret since the 
world began, 

26. But now is made manifest, and by the scriptures of 
the prophets, according to the commandment of the everlast- 
ing God, made known to all nations for the obedience of 
faith : 

Christ's religion establishes those who possess it, 
in the sense that they are not wavering and change- 
able in their zeal and fidelity, as were God's ancient 
peopko But they are much more in danger of decep- 
tion by Satan's beguilements, and more liable to yield 
to the seduction of the world and the devil, until 
experience brings them increased • knowledge, and 
suffering endured teaches them submission to the will 



298 A COMMENTARY 

of God. By these things they are established in the 
gospel. 

The mystery here mentioned is the peculiar doctrines 
of the gospel. The word does not signify anything 
hard to understand, but rather something secret 
or hidden. We are told in one place that this 
mystery is *' Christ in us the hope of glory." 
The experience of a child of God, of the love of God 
shed abroad in the heart, and the perfection of 
nature resulting from the new birth, were matters 
entirely unknown to those of former dispensations. 
These things were kept secret si?zce the world began. 
How strange that this is not understood, since it is so 
plainly stated. It is true that they are promised in 
the writings of the prophets, but neither the prophets 
themselves nor their readers knew or understood 
what was meant. But now these things are made 
manifest whenever the real gospel is preached, and 
have been so made manifest since the first sermon at 
Pentecost. The apostles and first preachers proved 
those doctrines from the scriptures of the prophets ^ as 
there was then no New Testament written. 

The obedience required in the gospel is faith in 
Christ, without any mixture of the works of the 
law. 

27. To God only wise, be glory through Jesus Christ for- 
ever. Amen. 



A COMMENTARY 299 

There may be on other planets creatures who like 
the elect angels, can bring God glory directly by 
perfect obedience, but man can bring Him glory 
only through Jesus Christ. 



General Observations. 

It is noticeable that St. Paul in his letter to the 
Romans makes no mention of St. Peter. The 
Romanists claim that he was bishop of Rome, and 
primate of the universal church. It is unreasonable 
to suppose that if St. Peter was in Rome, and the 
leader there, that he would not be mentioned when 
greeting was sent to so many of the brethren there. 
Nor would Paul presume to give directions for the 
government of the church if Peter was bishop there. 
It would have been an impertinence. It is plain that 
the apostle Peter was not in Rome at the time this 
letter was written, nor is there any proof that he was 
ever in that city. His bishopric there, and his pri- 
macy, rest upon traditions and assumptions that 
have little weight with reasonable and unprejudiced 
men. 

THE END. 



SEP 17 1904 



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